Multan Sultans won again in HBL PSL 9. They beat Islamabad United by five wickets at Multan Cricket Stadium last night.
The Multan Sultans won their second game in a row in the HBL PSL 9. They beat Islamabad United by five wickets at Multan Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night. Islamabad United scored 144 runs in 20 overs. The Sultans’ bowlers, Mohammad Ali and Abbas Afridi, did well to limit their score. Then, Sultans chased the target in the last over. Reeza Hendricks played a strong innings, scoring a half-century to help the team win.
Summary of the Match
Multan Sultans scored 145 runs for the loss of 5 wickets in 19.5 overs.
Islamabad United scored 144 runs and lost all their wickets in 20 overs.
Multan Sultans won the match by 5 wickets.
Multan Sultans’ choice to bowl first worked well as Islamabad United lost two wickets early on. Continuing his good performance from the last match, left-arm pacer David Willey again made a vital breakthrough for Multan Sultans by dismissing opener Alex Hales for only two runs in the third over.
There was a bit of excitement in the next over when Colin Munro got caught out on the first ball, but the bowler had stepped over the line, so it didn’t count, giving Munro another opportunity. However, just three deliveries later, Mohammad Ali made up for it by bowling Munro out for 8 runs off 13 balls, including one boundary.
The fourth batsman to come in, Jordan Cox, started strongly by hitting a six against Willey on only the fourth ball he faced. In the following over, he hit a boundary against Olly Stone, helping Islamabad United reach 32 for two at the end of the powerplay.
Salman Ali Agha and Cox guided Islamabad’s comeback. They faced right-arm pacer Abbas Afridi, scoring 26 runs off his first two overs. This boosted Islamabad’s run rate after the powerplay. However, Khushdil Shah’s misjudgment in the outfield resulted in two dropped catches in the seventh and ninth overs. Despite this, the partnership between Salman Ali Agha and Cox continued to grow, putting pressure on the home team.
In the 12th over, leg-spinner Usama Mir broke the third-wicket partnership by dismissing Cox, who was trapped leg-before. Cox, the English batsman, had challenged the on-field umpire’s decision, but after a review (DRS), three reds were shown, indicating the dismissal. Cox left the field after scoring 41 runs off 28 balls, including two boundaries and two sixes.
Azam Khan scored 13 runs from 10 balls, which included a four and a six, before he got caught by Willey at long-on, giving Usama his second wicket of the match. Imad Wasim got out without scoring any runs, facing only three balls, which is called a duck in cricket terminology. This dismissal brought Islamabad United’s score down to 105-5 in 14.4 overs.
Captain Shadab Khan joined Salman on the field. The duo put together a partnership of 35 runs for the sixth wicket before Shadab (11 runs off 9 balls, including one boundary) was dismissed by Abbas. Just one ball later, Abbas secured his third wicket of the match as Salman (52 runs off 43 balls, with three fours and two sixes) was caught by Khushdil.
Ali quickly got rid of Faheem Ashraf and Ubaid Shah with minimal runs scored. In the final over, Naseem Shah was run out, and with that, Islamabad United ended their innings at 144 runs in 20 overs.
Ali was named the player of the match for his outstanding bowling performance, taking three wickets while conceding only 19 runs. Abbas also took three wickets, and Usama contributed with two wickets. Willey managed to take one wicket as well.
In their defense of 145 runs, Islamabad United began well as Naseem Shah bowled Dawid Malan, hitting his middle stump, and Malan had to leave without scoring any runs, known as a duck, after facing just two balls.
Reeza Hendricks partnered with Mohammad Rizwan on the field, and together they managed to handle Naseem’s impressive bowling at the start of the innings. They built a strong partnership, adding 71 runs to stabilize the innings. However, Rizwan (scoring 43 runs off 33 balls, including six boundaries and two sixes) was dismissed by the opposing captain, who came on to bowl in the 11th over.
Yasir Khan scored eight runs off 11 balls before getting out to Imad, thanks to an impressive relay catch by Cox and Hales at deep midwicket.
In the 17th over, Hendricks faced Shadab and hit a six and two fours on three consecutive deliveries, reaching his half-century and helping his team get closer to the target.
Shortly afterward, Tymal Mills took out Hendricks, who scored 58 runs off 46 balls with six fours and one six. In the penultimate over, Naseem Shah dismissed Khushdil for just three runs.
Iftikhar Ahmed remained unbeaten on 18 runs from 17 balls, including one six, while Willey stayed not out on 7 runs from 6 balls, with one boundary. In the final over bowled by Mills, they scored the remaining four runs needed to win the game for Multan Sultans, finishing with one ball to spare.
Naseem Shah was the standout bowler for Islamabad United, taking two wickets for 27 runs in his four overs. Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, and Tymal Mills each claimed one wicket.
Match Stats
Islamabad United
1st wicket: Alex Hales – 9 runs (2.4 overs) 2nd wicket: Colin Munro – 14 runs (3.4 overs) 3rd wicket: Jordan Cox – 82 runs (11.3 overs) 4th wicket: Azam Khan – 100 runs (13.4 overs) 5th wicket: Imad Wasim – 105 runs (14.4 overs) 6th wicket: Shadab Khan – 140 runs (18.2 overs) 7th wicket: Agha Salman – 141 runs (18.4 overs) 8th wicket: Faheem Ashraf – 141 runs (19.1 overs) 9th wicket: Ubaid Shah – 141 runs (19.3 overs) 10th wicket: Naseem Shah – 144 runs (19.6 overs)
Multan Sultans
1st wicket: Dawid Malan – 6 runs (0.4 overs) 2nd wicket: Mohammad Rizwan – 77 runs (10.1 overs) 3rd wicket: Yasir Khan – 96 runs (13.2 overs) 4th wicket: Reeza Hendricks – 125 runs (17.3 overs) 5th wicket: Khushdil Shah – 134 runs (18.2 overs)
Playing XI
Multan Sultans
- Mohammad Rizwan (WK/C)
- Dawid Malan
- Reeza Hendricks
- Yasir Khan
- Iftikhar Ahmed
- Khushdil Shah
- David Willey
- Usama Mir
- Abbas Afridi
- Olly Stone
- Mohammad Ali
Islamabad United
- Alex Hales
- Colin Munro
- Agha Salman
- Shadab Khan (C)
- Jordan Cox
- Azam Khan (WK)
- Imad Wasim
- Faheem Ashraf
- Naseem Shah
- Tymal Mills
- Ubaid Shah
Match Details
Date – 2024-02-20 (Time- 7:00 PM)
Venue – Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan
Toss – Multan Sultans elected to bowl
Umpires – Chris Gaffaney (New Zealand), Faisal Afridi (Pakistan), Rashid Riaz (Pakistan TV)
