PSL 6 match 28: Shahnawaz Dhani's four-for bamboozles Lahore Qalandars

Rookie fast-bowler Shahnawaz Dhani, with his brilliant bowling display, leads Multan Sultans to an 80-run victory over Lahore Qalandars in the 28th match of PSL 6 at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi.

In pursuit of a 170-run target, Lahore only managed to get 89 runs in 15.1 overs.

Earlier, Qalandars were asked to bat first after losing the toss and posted 169/8 powered by in-form Sohaib Maqsood’s 60 top of the order, and Sohail Tanvir’s cameo in death overs. Tanvir, who has been off-colour with the ball lately, played a gem of a knock and took 24 runs from the final over of the innings bowled by Haris Rauf.

Multan had a slow start as Shaheen Shah Afridi dismissed Shan Masood on the first ball of the innings. Skipper Muhammad Rizwan looked a bit rusty as well and could only manage 15 runs off 20 balls before he was shown the door by Haris Rauf. The next batsman Johnson Charles also got out cheaply, leaving Sultans reeling at 60/3.

Rilee Rossouw and Sohaib Maqsood added 63 runs together before the former nicked one-off Ahmed Danial on 29 runs. The next four wickets of Maqsood, Khushdil, Imran Tahir and Blessing Muzarabani fell four just 19 runs, throwing off the momentum completely. However, short but valuable innings of 26 off just 9 balls from Sohail Tanvir propelled Multan to 169/8.

In response to a sizeable total on a used pitched that helped the ball grip and turn, Lahore tried a different combination top of the order, sending power-hitter Ben Dunk to open the innings with Fakhar Zaman. The experiment failed as Dunk fell for just 5 runs.

Lahore needed a big partnership to get back in the game, but they were never allowed any space by Multan bowlers, who kept hitting right lengths. Qalandars never looked settled throughout the innings as wickets kept tumbling at a regular interval. The last five wickets went down just for just seven runs and after 15.1 overs Qalandars got all-out for 89runs.

Shahnawaz Dhani, the young fast bowler from Larkana, ended with extraordinary figures of 4 for 5 in 3.1 overs to seal a thumping 80-run victory for Sultans. With these figures, Dhani now perches on top of the bowling charts having bagged 18 wickets in eight games this season.