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RAWALPINDI: Sahibzada Farhan’s half-century and Jason Holder’s all-round brilliance sealed a thrilling win for Islamabad United over Multan Sultans in the seventh match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 here at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Chasing a daunting 203, Multan Sultans were bowled out for 155 in 18.4 overs.
In pursuit of the target, the 2021 champions did not have the best of starts, losing Shai Hope (1) in the first over.
After the early wicket, Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Khan steadied the Sultans by scoring at nine runs per over. The duo formed a 59-run partnership off 32 balls, taking score to 62, before Usman’s dismissal on the penultimate ball of the powerplay.
However, Rizwan continued from where he left off in the previous match, taking his team’s score to 92 in the 10th over. He added another 30-run partnership with Kamran Ghulam, who was caught off Holder’s bowling for 17.
The wicket opened the door for Islamabad United, as Multan Sultans failed to recover and lost wickets at regular intervals.
Sultans’ top scorer, Rizwan, was dismissed for 38 off 27 balls—an innings that included three fours and one six. After his departure, none of the Sultans’ batters could contribute significantly, except Iftikhar Ahmed, who fought well with his 32 off 26 balls.
For Islamabad United, it was a combined bowling effort led by Jason Holder, who took four wickets for 25 in four overs. Imad Wasim supported him well with two wickets.
Earlier, Sahibzada Farhan’s half-century, along with quick runs from Colin Munro and Jason Holder, propelled Islamabad United to a massive total.
Multan Sultans skipper Mohammad Rizwan opted to bowl first, which proved costly for their bowlers as Islamabad United posted 202 for the loss of six wickets in 20 overs.
Islamabad United capitalised on the decision, getting off to a flyer with 45runs in the first five overs. Multan Sultan got the first breakthrough with the wicket of Andries Gous (9); however, Sahibzada Farhan continued the charge.
Farhan and Colin Munro accumulated 15 runs in the penultimate over of the powerplay to take United to 62-1.
The duo added 35 runs for the second wicket before Farhan’s dismissal, scoring 53 off 37 deliveries, featuring two sixes and seven fours. This was his second consecutive fifty in PSL 10.
Meanwhile, Multan Sultans struck back with the key wicket of Shadab Khan, who was caught on the third man on the score of 14 runs.
Munro added another 25-run partnership with Azam Khan, which took them to 128 in 14.2 overs, laying the platform for a good total.
However, this was the stage at which Multan made a comeback, taking wickets of Azam and Munro in back-to-back overs.
Munro scored 48 runs off 25 deliveries, striking four fours and three sixes. Just when it appeared that the Sultans would limit United to under 200 runs, Jason Holder and Haider Ali formed a quick partnership, adding 49 runs in just 22 balls, bringing their total close to 200.
Haider was caught after smashing 33 off 16 balls, with three sixes and two fours, while Holder remained unbeaten on 32 off 14 deliveries, striking at 228. His brisk knock featured three fours and massive sixes.
For Sultans, Chris Jordan bagged two wickets while Usama Mir and Ubaid Shah bagged one each.
PLAYING XIs:
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (cap & wk), Shai Hope, Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kamran Ghulam, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Chris Jordan, Usama Mir, Ubaid Shah, Mohammad Hasnain
Islamabad United: Andries Gous, Sahibzada Farhan, Colin Munro, Haider Ali, Azam Khan (wk), Shadab Khan (cap), Jason Holder, Muhammad Shahzad, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Riley Meredith
