Multan Sultans were prematurely eliminated from the PSL X as they were humbled by the Karachi Kings by 87 runs at the Gaddafi stadium here on Thursday evening.
Set a target of 205 runs by the Karachi Kings to stay alive in the league, Sultans crumbled to a humbling defeat as their batters failed to perform and were all out for 117-10 in the seventeenth over. Kamran Ghulam 29 (25) was the highest scorer for the Sultan as no other batter could break the noose tightened by some wily bowling by all-rounders Mohammad Nabi and Khushdil Shah.
Either they were too naïve or heart-broken, Multan Sultans did not put up a good resistance. Mohammad Rizwan fell for a duck in the second over of the chase while Usman Khan played yet another poor shot to leave early. Yasir Khan looked set to play yet another blinder but Aamer Jamal got the better of him in the fifth over the innings.
Mohammad Nabi was too good to handle as his variations kept the Sultans’ batter in check and claimed three wickets for 14 runs off his four overs. Khushdil Shah was also superb with the ball and picked two wickets for 26 runs. Mir Hamza picked two wickets.
Multan Sultans were themselves to blame as they failed to set high standards in all areas of the game and their batting was the worst once again although captain Mohammad Rizwan, in the post-match press conference, blamed poor fielding as the reason of behind the poor show in the tournament.
“We were spectacular in the field today but even then, we dropped two catches in the match and James Vince went on to win hit 60 plus runs which helped Karachi post a big total,” Rizwan responded to the reason of his team’s early elimination from the tournament.
Earlier, the cameo by captain David Warner 30 (13) set the tone for the Kings as he plundered 24 runs off Bracewell’s second over while Khushdil Shah capped the innings with the fiery 33 off 13 ball as he hit two boundaries and three 6s.
It was the fighting unbeaten knock of James Vince 65 (45) which led Karachi Kings to a big total after they had lost three wickets for 60 runs in the sixth over. Vince built the highest partnership of the match (78 off 56 ball) with Irfan Khan 40 (33) and the team total was 138-4 in the 15th over. But icing on the cake was the 66 runs partnership off 31 balls with Khushdil Shah that took the match away from Multan Sultans.
James Vinces was adjudged player of the match for the superlative knock which kept the innings together besides leading the team to a big total.
With Multan Sultans’ defeat, Karachi Kings have strengthened their position to play the play-offs. Kings is fourth on the points-table with eight points from seven matches. Peshawar Zalmi are placed fifth on the table with four points from six matches.
The 21st match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 10 between Quetta Gladiators and Lahore Qalandars at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium was abandoned due to persistent rain and strong winds on Thursday.
The match was halted after just 11.3 overs of play, with Lahore Qalandars batting first.
