MULTAN: Mohammad Rizwan and Rilee Rossouw struck magnificent half-centuries amid Multan Sultans’ 210/3 before Usama Mir-led bowling attack bundled Peshawar Zalmi on 154 to claim a dominating 56-run victory in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.
Set to chase a mammoth 211, Zalmi bundled out for 154 in the 19th over despite a quickfire half-century by young batter Saim Ayub.
The visitors got off to a flying start with young opener Mohammad Haris charging on Sultans’ bowlers but Ihsanullah dented Zalmi’s march on the first delivery of his spell as he trapped Babar Azam in his legs, who could manage just nine with the bat.
Haris then kept on charging on the bowlers despite an early blow and received equal support from Saim as the pair added brisk 47 runs for 26 deliveries before a mix-up between the wickets brought an end to Haris’ impressive knock.
The wicketkeeper batter scored 40 off just 23 deliveries with the help of a boundary and four sixes.
Zalmi then lost another wicket in quick succession as Usama removed in-form Tom Kohler-Cadmore on just three and forced Zalmi to slip to 95/1 in the 11th over.
Rovman Powell then partnered briefly with Saim as the duo took Zalmi to 130 before Asif Afridi broke the budding partnership by removing the former on 23.
Powell’s dismissal triggered a frustrating collapse with Saim also perishing briefly after amassing his half-century before eventually bundling out on 154 in the 19th over.
Saim remained the top-scorer for the Zalmi with a quickfire 53 off 37 deliveries including three boundaries and as many sixes.
Usama and Ihsanullah led the bowling attack for the Sultans with three wickets each while Abbas had two.
Put into bat first, the home side Sultans took on the hapless Zalmi bowling attack and amassed a mammoth 210/3 in their set of 20 overs at the back of brilliant half-centuries by Rizwan and Rossouw.
The home side had a decent start to their innings as their opening pair of Shan Masood and Rizwan provided a solid foundation for a big total with a gritty 54-run partnership.
Masood, who was struggling to score freely finally perished in the eighth over while attempting to play a lap sweep off Salman Irshad but ended up nicking the ball straight to wicketkeeper Mohammad Haris. He could score 20 off 25 deliveries.
Following Masood’s dismissal, Rizwan partnered strongly with Rossouw and added another vital partnership for his side and scored his second half-century of the ongoing season before falling to Sufiyan Muqeem in the 14th over.
The right-handed batter scored 66 off 42 deliveries, laced with nine boundaries and a six.
Following Rizwan’s dismissal, Rossouw launched an onslaught on Zalmi’s bowlers as he scored a quickfire 75 off just 36 deliveries including 12 boundaries and two sixes.
Following his dismissal in the 19th over, his countrymate David Miller (23) and Kieron Pollard (15) carried the momentum in the final over and sealed 19 runs off it to power Sultans to a mammoth total.
Irshad led the bowling attack for Zalmi with two wickets while Muqeem could pick one.
