Multan Sultans beat Lahore Qalandars by five wickets in the seventh Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 9 match at the picturesque Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday evening.
Chasing 167 runs target for victory, Sultans crossed the finishing line with five wickets in hand and six balls to spare despite a disastrous start. 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.
After opting to bat first, Lahore Qalandars managed to score 166/5 in the allotted 20 overs. After losing an early wicket, Rassie van der Dussen (54) and Fakhar Zaman (41) stitched a 94-run partnership to steady the shop. Cameos of Sikandar Raza (23), Jahandad Khan (16) and Carlos Brathwaite (15) helped Qalandar to post a decent score on the board. Mohammad Ali bagged two wickets while Abbas Afridi and Usama Mir took one wicket each. Jahandad Khan was run out. Qalandars and Sultans have made one change each. Shahnawaz Dahani has replaced injured Olly Stone for the Sultans while George Linde made it to Playing XI in place of Salman Fayyaz for Qalandars.
