LAHORE: Multan Sultans’ bowlers displayed combined effort after batters posted the second-highest Pakistan Super League (PSL) score; assisting their side to defeat Quetta Gladiators by the biggest runs margin of 117 runs in the league’s history.
Set to chase a mammoth 246 in the 25th match of the ongoing PSL 7, the Gladiators’ failed completely and could only manage to score 128; handing the biggest victory margin to the Sultans.
After starting poorly, the side kept losing wickets at a consistent rate in the run chase. Jason Roy and Umar Akmal, however, resisted a bit, while the rest of the batters remained clueless in front of Sultans’ bowling attack.
Roy scored a quick 38 top of the order, while Umar top-scored for his side with a brilliant 50 off just 23 balls; hitting two boundaries and six sixes.
Umar’s departure in the 10th over initiated another collapse and the Gladiators bowled out for a mere 128. The skipper – Sarfaraz Ahmed remained unbeaten with his 17.
For the Sultans, Asif Afridi, David Willey, Shahnawaz Dahani, and Khushdil Shah took two wickets each, while Imran Tahir made one scalp.
After opting to bat, Sultans set a huge target of 246 for the Gladiators, thanks to their skipper – Mohammad Rizwan and the top-order batter Rilee Rossouw, who played stunning knocks to bolster the side in the closing overs.
Earlier, Sultans’ openers – Rizwan and Shan Masood set the tone for the side; putting on a brilliant century-partnership for the first wicket. The duo appeared solid as both scored astonishing half-centuries.
Masood walked back to the pavilion in the 12th over after scoring 57 off 38 balls with the help of six boundaries and a six, while Rizwan stood firm and kept the scoreboard ticking.
Following Masood’s departure, Rossouw stood up for his team and played a blinder. The left-handed batter scored a quickfire 71 off a mere 26 balls; smashing nine boundaries and four sixes before falling short to Naseem Shah in the 19th over.
Rizwan, on the other hand, top-scored with his unbeaten 83 runs off just 54 balls with the help of 10 boundaries including three sixes.
For the Gladiators, the bowlers remained off-colour as they conceded a lot of runs and leaked 24 runs as extras. Returning pacer Mohammad Irfan, Ghulam Mudassar, and Naseem managed to make one scalp each.
