Multan Sultans thumped Karachi Kings by 19 runs on the back of Usman Khan's unbeaten hundred in the 19th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 on Sunday.
Setting the 190-run target, Multan Sultans restricted Karachi Kings to 169/7, handing the home side their third loss on the bounce. With this win, Multan Sultans also became the first team to qualify for playoffs.
Pursuing a massive total, Karachi Kings had a shaky start to their chase, losing Tim Seifert in the second over. He was run out by David Willey for just 1 run.
Skipper Shan Masood counterattacked with a couple of boundaries to ease off the pressure but lost his partner James Vince in the fifth over. He was caught behind while trying to drive David Willey's length ball that nibbled away. He departed for 7 with a solitary boundary.
Shoaib Malik, who was promoted up the order, ended up being the top scorer for Karachi with his 28-ball 38, studded with five fours.
He was also involved in the highest partnership for Karachi, 47 runs, with skipper Shan Masood for the third wicket before the latter departed for 36 off 29 deliveries. He was cleaned up by Usama Mir's sharp-turning delivery, as Karachi slipped to 75/3.
Malik was the next wicket to fall. He was caught at long-on by Chris Jordan off Khushdil Shah, leaving Karachi 89/4.
Leus du Plooy (12 off 11) also departed early, leaving Karachi 99/5.
Irfan Khan Niazi (23 from 19 balls) smashed young Faisal Akram for a couple of boundaries and a six in the 14th over, giving Karachi fans a glimpse of hope.
However, the next two overs bowled by Willey and Chris Jordan, went for four runs each, bringing Multan back in the game.
The dot ball pressure paid off as Willey finally struck in the 17th over, removing the danger man Irfan Khan Niazi. With Pollard missing tonight's game, Karachi had no one to give it a finishing touch.
Mohammad Nawaz (27), Hasan Ali (17) and Mir Hamza (4) scored a couple of boundaries, but couldn't take Karachi over the line, as they fell 19 runs short.
Usama Mir (2/29) was the pick of the bowlers for Multan Sultans. He is now the highest wicket-taker in the PSL 9 with 15 wickets, surpassing Mohammad Ali.
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Batting first after winning the toss, Multan Sultans set a 190-run target for Karachi Kings, thanks to an unbeaten hundred by wicket-keeper batter Usman Khan.
His brilliant innings of 59-ball 106 was studded with five maximums and 10 fours.
Mohammad Rizwan was the second top scorer for Multan with his 44-ball 58, while Reeza Hendricks, Iftikhar Ahmed and Khushdil Shah also contributed with 13, 4, and 6 respectively.
For Karachi, Blessing Muzarabani took 2 wickets for 32 runs, while Hasan Ali bagged 1 for 34.
Points Table
Multan Sultans occupy the top spots on the table with 12 points after winning six out of their seven games, becoming the first team to qualify for the playoffs. Quetta Gladiators are perched second, with 9 points. Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United are third and fourth in the table with seven and five points, respectively. Karachi Kings, on the other hand, are fifth in the points table with two wins out of their six games. Lahore Qalandars are reeling at the bottom of the table with one point.
Next Fixtures
Peshawar Zalmi will face table-toppers Multan Sultans in the 20th match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, on Monday. The match will start at 7 pm.
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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