PROVIDENCE: Hammad Azam starred as San Francisco Unicorns held their nerve to edge Perth Scorchers XI by five runs in the match of the Global Super League (GSL) 2026 at the Providence Stadium on Sunday.
Batting first, the Unicorns recovered from a top-order collapse to post 152-8 in their allotted 20 overs.
Their innings fell into deep trouble after slipping from 42-1 to 46-5 within six overs. Hammad Azam played a lone hand to lift Unicorns to a respectable total. He hit an unbeaten 64 off 46, hitting five sixes and four boundaries.
In reply, Perth Scorchers XI fell short in the final over, scoring 147-9 in 20 overs.
Scorchers also endured a shaky start. Andre Fletcher departed for one in the opening over before Joel Curtis was also dismissed for 16. D’Arcy Short anchored the chase with a patient 43, sharing useful partnerships with Usman Khan (14) and Ashton Turner (13), but wickets continued to halt their progress.
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After Short’s dismissal in the 16th over with the score at 103-7, the Scorchers appeared out of the contest before Brody Couch launched a counterattack.
The lower-order batter smashed 23 from just 12 deliveries, including two fours and two sixes, while adding 39 runs with Akeal Hosein for the ninth wicket to revive hopes of an unlikely victory.
However, the required rate proved too steep. Hosein was dismissed for 16 on the penultimate ball of the innings.
For Unicorns, Ghulam Mudassar claimed four wickets.
