Multan Sultans powered to a five-wicket victory against Lahore Qalandars with the highest-successful chase in the Pakistan Super League 2022 on Saturday, and pacer Naseem Shah returned a career-best 5/20 to lead Quetta Gladiators to an eight-wicket win over Karachi Kings. (More Cricket News)
Left-handed opener Shan Masood made 83 off 50 balls for Multan while captain Mohammad Rizwan struck 69 as his sublime form in the T20s continued with his second successive half-century. Multan reached 209-5 with two balls to spare.
It was the biggest successful chase in the history of the PSL, which is in its seventh season. Opener Fakhar Zaman’s blistering 76 off 35 balls had earlier set up Lahore’s strong total of 206-5 after Rizwan won the toss and opted to field.
Advertisement
With 17 required off the last two overs, Lahore skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi (3-40) pushed Multan into a tight corner by conceding only one run and claiming the wickets of Sohaib Maqsood (20) and Tim David (1).
But left-hander Khushdil Shah (18 not out) hit experienced Haris Rauf for three fours and a six in the final over to seal a thrilling win for Multan against a formidable T20 bowling attack.
The star-studded Lahore bowling lineup struggled against Masood and Rizwan. Afridi and Rauf were inconsistent in their opening spells of two overs each while Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan (1-28) had to wait until his fourth over to break the 150-run opening stand.
Advertisement
Masood hit 14 fours and a six in his masterful knock before he was undone by Rashid’s googly which knocked back the off stump in the 15th over. Rizwan, who hit six fours and three sixes, was bowled around his legs by Afridi’s full-pitched delivery before Shah’s cameo saw Multan over the line in the last over.
Earlier, Fakhar set the tone of Lahore’s big total by smashing 11 fours and two sixes before he was smartly caught at short fine leg by a diving Imran Khan as he tried to flick fast bowler Ihsanullah in the 12th over.
Kamran Ghulam made a useful contribution of 43 off 31 balls but it was Rashid’s two sixes and a four in the last over, bowled by Shahnawaz Dahani (1-44), that took Lahore over the 200-run mark.
DESTRUCTIVE NASEEM
Naseem ran through the top order with three quick wickets and then returned to claim two more wickets in his second spell as Karachi narrowly managed to avoid its lowest-ever total in the PSL before getting bowled out for 113 in 17.3 overs.
Imad Wasim, who had recovered from coronavirus, made 26 and took Karachi past its previous lowest PSL total of 108-9 when he lofted Naseem for a big six before holing out at mid-wicket off the next delivery.
Captain Babar Azam saw four teammates dismissed by Naseem and Sohail Tanvir inside the batting powerplay and top-scored with 32 before he also skied an easy catch in the deep in the 12th over to fast bowler Mohammad Hasnain.
Advertisement
Opening batter Ahsan Ali (57 not out off 43) scored his second successive half-century and anchored Quetta to 114-2 in 15.5 overs with captain Sarfaraz Ahmed (16) wrapping up the game by smashing three successive boundaries against Lewis Gregory’s gentle medium pace.
The 2020 champion Karachi, which takes on Lahore on Sunday, needs to quickly make amends in the batting department as it also lost this season’s opening match to Multan by seven wickets after being restricted to 124-5.
