Multan (Web Desk): Multan Sultans defeated Lahore Qalandars by five wickets in the 7th match of the 9th edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL 9) at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
After winning the toss, Lahore Qalandars decided to bat first and scored 166 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in stipulated 20 overs.
Fakhar Zaman made 76 off 35 balls, with the help of 11 fours and two sixes, while Kamran Ghulam smashed 43 off 31 balls with the help of two fours and three sixes.
The fall of wickets began in the ninth over when Khushdil Shah picked up the first and crucial wicket of Abdullah Shafiq (24), who was on a roll with his opening partner Fakhar Zaman.
Later in the 12th over, Imran Tahir took the wicket of Fakhar (76), piling up pressure on the Qalandars.
Mohammad Hafeez was the third man to go for 16 of 12 balls and the man to dismiss him was Kushdil. Meanwhile, David Willey picked up the fourth wicket of Kamran Ghulam (43) in the 18th over
Chasing 167 runs target for victory, Multan Sultans achieved the target of in the 19th over.
Despite losing partners at regular intervals, skipper Mohammad Rizwan continued scoring runs at a quick pace to keep the required run rate under control.
In the later stage, Qalandars seized control of the match by first removing Mohammad Rizwan (82) and then David Willey (25). Iftikhar Ahmed (34 of 11 balls) hit three fours and two maximums in the penultimate over bowled by Zaman Khan to power Multan Sultans to victory.
Shaheen Shah Afridi and Zaman Khan bagged two wickets each while George Linde took one wicket. Mohammad Rizwan was named player of the match.
Teams
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (c/wk), Dawid Malan, Reeza Hendricks, Khushdil Shah, Iftikhar Ahmed, Yasir Khan, David Willey, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani
Lahore Qalandars: Sahibzada Farhan, Fakhar Zaman, Rassir van der Dussen, Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza, Lorcan Tucker (wk), David Wiese, Shaheen Afridi (c), Jahandad Khan, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan