Fast bowler Mohammad Ali, and top-order batter Reeza Hendricks helped Multan Sultan beat Islamabad United by five wickets in a low-scoring affair at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
Despite tight bowling by Naseem Shah and Imad Waseem, Multan Sultans achieved the 145-run target on the penultimate ball of the final over with five wickets in hand.
After being put into bat, Islamabad United had a shaky start to their innings, losing both openers for just 14 runs in the 4th over. Agha Salman (52 off 43) and Jordan Cox (41 off 28) stitched together a 58-run stand for the third wicket.
After keeping Islamabad’s scoring rate in check for the first 15 overs, Multan bowlers finished well as well, taking the last five wickets for just 44 runs, bowling them out for 144 in 20 overs.
Mohammad Ali bowled a brilliant spell of 3/19 in his 4-over quota, while Abbas Afridi was the second-best bowler for Multan with his figures of 3/31.
Defending a small total, Naseem Shah drew the first blood in the first over, removing in-form batter Dawid Malan for a duck. However, it was three drop catches, two of them dropped by Imad Waseem, that let Islamabad recover and eventually win the low-scoring game.
Reeza Hendricks (58 off 46), and Mohammad Rizwan (43 from 33) were stars with the bat for Multan Sultans.
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Points Table Update
This was the second successive win for Multan Sultans. They have earned two more points, taking their tally to 4. They now sit comfortably at the top of the table, followed by Quetta Gladiators (also four points, and Islamabad United (two points) in the second and third spots. The other three teams are yet to register a win in the tournament.
Next Fixtures
Fans will witness a double-header on Wednesday, with Peshawar Zalmi taking on Karachi Kings in the day game in Lahore, and Lahore Qalandars taking on Multan Sultans in Multan. The first game will start at 2pm, while the second one will kick off at 7pm.
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