Sultans end Gladiators unbeaten streak in PSL 9

Multan Sultans Sunday ended Quetta Gladiators' winning streak in a nail-biting clash during the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine at the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Mohammad Rizwan’s men successfully defended the 181-run target courtesy of their accuracy with the ball as the Gladiators’ batters failed to hurt their opponents.

Chasing the target, the Gladiators started slowly as they could only score 8 runs in the first two overs against Mohammad Ali and David Willey.

Jason Roy became Ali’s victim in the third over, Saud Shakeel followed him soon enough after losing his wicket to Willey in the sixth over, leaving his side 42-2.

After losing two wickets, skipper Rilee Rossouw and youngster Khawaja Nafay held their nerves stayed at the crease and formed a 60-run partnership.

Gladiators had the command of the chase but Rossouw’s unexpected dismissal turned the tide in Sultans’ favour. The wickets kept falling and the visiting side could only score 167 runs in the allocated overs, ending up tasting their first PSL 9 defeat by 13 runs.

Batting first, the Sultans started with a blast as opener Usman Khan hit three boundaries to Akeal Hosein to end the first over with 14/0.

However, the right-handed batter was removed by mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed in the third over after scoring 14 runs.

Mohammad Rizwan built a crucial 79-run partnership with Hendricks during which he also completed his half-century. The Sultans skipper then departed for the pavilion after contributing 51 runs on 42 balls courtesy of six boundaries.

After Rizwan’s dismissal, Quetta looked in complete control of the match as they had restricted Sultans to 122-2 in 16 overs.

However, Hendricks and Tahir changed the course of the game for the home side as both scored 58 runs combined in the last four overs to take their side to a competitive total.

Hendricks departed in the last over after scoring 72 runs on 47 balls while Tahir remained unbeaten for 35 off 22.

Right before the conclusion of Sultans' innings, a ball struck Quetta's wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed's head after which he was replaced by Mohammad Sajjad as a concussion substitute.

Lineups

Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Usman Khan, Reeza Hendricks, Tayyab Tahir, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, David Willey, Usama Mir, Aftab Ibrahim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali

Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Saud Shakeel, Khawaja Nafay, Rilee Rossouw (c), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, Akeal Hosein, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Usman Tariq, Mohammad Amir, Abrar Ahmed