Reeza Hendricks and Dawid Malan star with the bat as Multan Sultan open their Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 2024 with a 55-run win over Karachi Kings at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
After being put in to bat, Multan Sultans lost skipper Mohammad Rizwan (11) early, but Hendricks (79*) and Malan (52) steadied the ship before taking the attack to Karachi.
After Malan’s departure in the 17th over, Khushdil Shah walked in and scored a quickfire 28 off 12 to take Multan Sultans to 186/2 in the allotted 20 overs.
Pursuing a sizeable total, Karachi lost two wickets for just 10 runs. Captain Shan Masood and Shoaib Malik built a crucial 52-run stand for the third wicket to bring Karachi back into the game.
PCB unveils PSL 2024 trophy in Lahore
However, after Malik departed for his 35-ball 53, the entire Karachi Kings batting lineup crumbled, leaving too much for Keiron Pollard to do.
With wickets tumbling on the other hand, Pollard had no choice but to see off the 20 overs to minimize the margin of defeat.
For Multan, Mohammad Ali took 3 wickets, and Willey and Abbas shared 2-each.
Quetta beat Peshawar
Earlier in the first match of the day, overhauled Quetta Gladiators defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 16 runs, registering their first victory in the PSL 2024.
Playing under a new skipper after eight long years, Quetta looked like a different side altogether, breaking the shackles of a defensive mindset.
Saud Shakeel, who made his PSL debut today after being benched for 33 matches across 7 seasons, played a crucial role in Quetta’s win.
Batting first, Quetta Gladiators posted a massive 206-run target for Peshawar, thanks to Saud Shakeel (47-ball 74) and Jason Roy (48-ball 75). The duo stitched together a 157-run stand for the opening wicket, providing a platform for the middle order to capitalize on.
In response, Babar Azam (68) and Saim Ayub (42) provided Peshawar with a brisk start of 90 off 51 balls before Peshawar’s chase got wobbled in the latter part of the innings and they were eventually held to 190-6.
HBL PSL-9 scheduled to begin on Feb 17
Points Table Update
This was the first win of the season for both Multan and Quetta. They have earned two points each and sit first and third on the points table, respectively. Islamabad United, who defeated defending champions Lahore Qalandars in the opening game on Saturday, are second on the table.
Next Fixtures
Fans will witness an important game between Quetta Gladiators and Lahore Qalandars at 7:00 pm on Monday. The match will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Past PSL Winners
PSL 2016 – Islamabad United
PSL 2017 – Peshawar Zalmi
PSL 2018 – Islamabad United
PSL 2019 – Quetta Gladiators
PSL 2020 – Karachi Kings
PSL 2021 – Multan Sultans
PSL 2022 - Lahore Qalandars
PSL 2023 - Lahore Qalandars
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