MATCH REPORT
Follow UsMohammad Rizwan (76) led from the front once again to hand Multan Sultans their first win of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 that came against Lahore Qalandars, in Match 7 of the tournament in Karachi. Sohaib Maqsood scored an unbeaten 61 off 41 and put on 110 off 65 balls for the third wicket after they came together after just 20 balls into the innings. Sultans' Chris Lynn (0) and James Vince (5) were dismissed early in a chase of 158.
All seven matches in this edition have been won by the team batting second.
Qalandars were not up to the mark in the field, giving Rizwan a couple of chances and the wicketkeeper-batsman made the best of it. Despite losing a couple of wickets, they finished the powerplay at a rate of close to 10 per over. With exactly 100 needed of the remaining 14 overs with eight wickets in hand, it was Sultans’ to lose. But Rizwan and Maqsood ensured that there wasn’t any panic.
Fakhar Zaman could have caused some tension in the chase had he held on a straightforward catch to dismiss Rizwan in the 10th over, but wasn’t to be. When Rizwan was eventually dismissed, Sultans needed just 18 more runs from 35 balls, which was not a problem for them whatsoever.
Earlier, Lahore Qalandars registered their lowest-ever powerplay score (25), but thanks to Mohammad Hafeez (60) and Joe Denly (31), who put on 89 for the third wicket, they managed to reach a respectable 157 for 6. From 104 for 2 in the 14th over, they had a mini-collapse which saw them reduced to 122 for 5 in a span of 20 deliveries, which included the wickets of two set batsmen – Hafeez and Denly.
Barring a handy contribution by Samit Patel (26) down the order, there was nothing to talk about in the Qalandars’ innings, who were at least 15 to 20 runs short.
When total of 190-plus have been chased with ease this season, a target of just 158 was never going to be an issue, unless Qalandars picked up wickets at regular intervals and that’s the way the match seemed to be heading when Shaheen Afridi got a couple of quick wickets in the powerplay, but there was not much to cheer about after that.
The Qalandars have a chance to get their campaign back on track when they take on Karachi Kings in their next match on Sunday (February 28). Sultans also play Karachi Kings a day before on Saturday (February 27) – both at the National Stadium.
Brief scores:
Lahore Qalandars 157 for 6 in 20 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 60, Joe Denly 31; Carlos Brathwaite 2 for 20) lost to Multan Sultans 159 for 3 in 16.2 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 76, Sohaib Maqsood 61*; Shaheen Afridi 2 for 29) by 7 wickets.
Player of the match: Mohammad Rizwan