At the National Stadium Karachi, Sarfaraz Ahmed led Quetta Gladiators to their first victory of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 6 against Multan Sultans.
Multan Sultans were limited to 154 runs and dismissed in 19.4 overs by Quetta Gladiators. The Gladiators have also defied the odds by being the first team to defend a total this season.
Earlier, Usman Khan’s brilliant debut helped Quetta Gladiators post 176/7 in 20 overs. The right-handed batsman hit 10 fours and three sixes in his 50-ball innings.
At the end, he teamed up with Saim Ayub (23 off 18 balls) to score 69. Usman continued to put pressure on Multan Sultans bowlers, but his solo fight ended when he attempted to reverse sweep Imran Tahir (2/29). On the last ball of the 14th over, he was given LBW.
Sultans bowled good lengths in the backend and didn’t encourage Gladiators’ players to score freely. Shahnawaz Dahani was among the wicket-takers once more, this time taking three for 44 in four overs.
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Mohammad Rizwan and James Vince got the Sultans off to a good start in their chase for 177. The pair added 63 runs before Afghanistan’s Qais Ahmed changed the game with his leg-spin bowling.
He dismissed Vince (24), Shan Masood (1), and Rilee Rossouw in three consecutive overs (3). Mohammad Nawaz entered the fray and took out Sohaib Maqsood, a hard-hitter (2). In four overs, he finished with figures of 3/21.
Multan Sultans skipper Muhammad Rizwan was fighting alone from one end, and in the process, he scored his third fifty of the PSL season.
In the 17th over, Mohammad Hasnain (2/39) sent back Khushdil Shah and Carlos Braithwaite as the run rate continued to rise.
Meanwhile, Rizwan and Sohail Khan were both removed in consecutive deliveries by Zahid Mehmood (2/34). Dale Steyn of South Africa ended the match by eliminating Dahani.
