PSL 9: Multan Sultans beat Lahore Qalandars by five wickets

F.P. Report

MULTAN: Fiery knocks from Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmad helped Multan Sultans bag five-wicket win over Lahore Qalandars in seventh match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 at Multan Stadium on Wednesday.

Rizwan, the captain-cum-opner of Sultans, smashed 82 for 59, keeping the runs put on the scoreboard despite dimissal of three players of his team in quick sessions.

After he was sent packing by Zaman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed played an heroic inning as he made 34 for 11, sealing the victory for Multan Sultans as they achived the target of 167 runs in 19 overs.

Earlier, Qalandars won the toss and elected to bat first. Their opening batsman Shaibzada Farham was not in good form as he was dismissed by Mohammad Ali for 2, dealing an early blow to Qalandars.

Fakhar Zaman was joined by batter number 3 Rassie van der Dussen on the crease and they stitched a strong partnership to boost the total.

Zaman smashed 41 off 36 while Dussen made 54 before Usama Mir got a breakthrough. Sikandar Raza and Jahandad Khan made 23 and 16 respectively in order to set a fighting total for the home side.

In their second match against Quetta Gladiators, the Lahorites had to blame their bowling again as they let the opponents off the hook. Lahore’s batting put up a healthy total of 187 runs but Quetta achieved the target with five balls to spare.

Apart from batting, fielding lapses cost Lahore their second match. They dropped Jason Roy twice and Sarfraz Ahmed which helped Quetta win by five wickets.

Multan Sultans, on the other hand, have won both their matches and are at the top of the points table with four points.

Probable teams

Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan, Dawid Malan, Reeza Hendricks, Khushdil Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Yasir Khan, David Willey, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani

Lahore Qalandars: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Rassie van der Dussen, Abdullah Shafique, Jahandad Khan, Sikandar Raza, Carlos Brathwaite, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Fayyaz, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan