Sultans score big triumph over Qalandars

ISLAMABAD: Multan Sultans on Friday put up a good bowling show as they defeated Lahore Qalandars by 80 runs in match number 28 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 6 at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.

The Sultans had set a 170-run target after Qalandars invited them to bat first. Imran Khan Sr. gave the Multan Sultans the first breakthrough as he got the important wicket of Ben Dunk (6) in the second over, while Shahnawaz Dhani took the second wicket of Fakhar Zaman (13) in the fifth over. In the sixth over, Muzarabani was able to pick up the third wicket for the Sultans by dismissing Mohammad Hafeez for 14 runs, while Imran Tahir, in the 10th over, got the wicket of Qalandars' skipper Sohail Akhtar (5) after Mohammad Rizwan stumped him.

Muzarabani took his second wicket in the 10th over when he dismissed Agha Salman (13) and Imran Khan crushed the hope of Qalandars as he bowled Tim David (10) in the 13th over — right after the delivery when he had appealed for lbw.

In the second ball of the 14th over, Dhani dismissed James Faulkner for 22 — after a failed DRS review — thanks to a great catch by veteran Imran Tahir. The charged Dhani, in the last ball of the same over, was able to get the wicket of Rashid Khan (2), with a spectacular catch from skipper Mohammad Rizwan, who ran toward the deep fine leg. Imran Sr. took the wicket of Haris Rauf (1), thanks to a great catch — again — by Tahir, while Dhani took the final wicket of Shaheen (2).

On the first ball of the match, in-form Masood was out lbw, as Shaheen Shah Afridi gave a golden start to the Qalandars. The undeterred Sultans, however, kept the scoreboard ticking. In the fifth over, Rizwan thrashed Haris Rauf, but at the end of the over, Rauf got the upper hand as he dismissed the Sultans' skipper for 15. Charles (10) was lbw in the eighth over after spinner Rashid Khan appealed for a review, as the umpire had earlier declared Charles not out.

In the second ball of the 12th over, Haris Rauf would have been able to take his second wicket — and an important one of Sohaib Maqsood — but Mohammad Hafeez failed to catch the ball — keeping the Sultans' hopes alive. Ahmed Daniyal, in the 15th over, took the wicket of Rilee Rossouw (25), aiming to keep the pressure up on the Sultans. Shaheen, in the 16th over, took the key wicket of Sohaib Maqsood (60), and then the Sultans' run rate fell.

In the third and fifth balls of the 18th over, pacer James Faulkner — who did not get a breakthrough in the entire match — finally dismissed Khushdil Shah (6) and Imran Tahir (4), respectively.

Shaheen, in the 18th over, bowled Muzarabani for a duck. With the Qalandars skipper Akhtar looking to keep the score at a minimum, Sohail Tanvir smacked some good shots in the last over — three fours and two sixes — to put a score of 169.