PSL 2023: Multan Sultans triumph over Karachi Kings in nail-biting match
Multan Sultans beat Karachi Kings by 3 runs in the 11th match of the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Wednesday at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan. Kings failed to reach the huge goal of 197 runs that had been set for them.
When Sultans were given the chance to bat first, Mohammad Rizwan’s incredible century helped them set a huge goal of 197 runs before their great bowling held Kings to 193-5 in 20 overs.
As the second innings came to a close, the game was very exciting. Abbas Afridi stopped 22 runs in the last over to help his team win.
Imad Wasim, the team’s captain, did his best by getting 46 runs off of 26 balls, but it wasn’t enough to reach the goal.
In response to the big goal of 197 runs, James Vince and Matthew Wade put their team in charge by putting together 72 runs for the first wicket.
It took Vince only 20 balls to get to 50. For his fifty, the English batter hit six fours and four sixes.
But Usama Mir, a spinner for his team, broke the partnership when he caught Wade LBW (leg between wickets). The left-handed batter was out of the game after getting 20 runs in 14 pitches.
After he and Haider Ali got confused, the dangerous Vince had to leave in the 10th over. After scoring 75 runs in just 34 balls, he was run out and had to walk off the field.
Haider was the next batter to be out. He tried to play a cut shot off Khushdil Shah, but the ball edged and went into Rizwan’s hands.
After James Vince was out by being run out, the left-arm spinner sent Haider Ali back to the pavilion.
As the number of runs needed to win kept going up, veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik tried to hit Abbas for a six, but he couldn’t get over the fence, and Kieron Pollard made a spectacular catch to send him packing.
In the last over, all-rounder Ben Cutting (12) was out to Abbas.
Ihsanullah didn’t get any wickets in PSL 8, but he bowled his four most important overs at a terrible economy of 4.25.
For Multan Sultans, Abbas claimed two wickets, and Usama and Khusdil took a wicket each.
Earlier, skipper Rizwan scored a magnificent century to help Multan Sultans set a target of 197 runs against Karachi Kings.
Sultans got off to a good start, but Shoaib Malik gave Kings a much-needed break when he sent Shan Masood back to the pavilion, putting the home team at 85-1.
Shan, who struggled in the previous games, rediscovered his form and partnered up with skipper Rizwan to put his side in a strong position. For the first wicket, the two batters worked together to make a score of 85 runs.
But the left-handed batter had to leave the field after hitting six boundaries and a home run for 51 runs.
Rilee Rossouw, who was in good shape, joined the group and picked up where he left off in the last game. The South African player started hitting fours and sixes, but Rizwan was the one who hit the bowlers of the other team the hardest.
For the second wicket, the two batters scored 109 runs together, but Rizwan was responsible for 77 of those runs.
Rossouw perished in the last over after scoring 29 runs off 21 balls.
For Karachi, Malik and Mohammad Umar claimed a wicket each.
Multan Sultans: Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (wk/c), Rilee Rossouw, David Miller, Kieron Pollard, Khushdil Shah, Carlos Brathwaite, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah, Mohammad Ilyas.
Karachi Kings: James Vince, Haider Ali, Matthew Wade(w), Irfan Niaz Khan, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim(c), Ben Cutting, Aamer Yamin, Akif Javed, Muhammad Umar, Imran Tahir.
