Multan Sultans climbed to the second in the points table with a thumping 80-run victory over Lahore Qalandars at Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, on Friday, 18 June. Shahnawaz Dhani was adjudged Player of the Match for picking up four wickets.
Sohail Akhtar won the toss and invited Multan to bat first. Multan lost a wicket to the first ball of the match, when Shan Masood was trapped by Shaheen Shah Afridi on the front pad.
Sohaib Maqsood and Mohammad Rizwan added 45 for the second wicket before the latter was dismissed by Haris Rauf. Johnson Charles too fell few moments later, reducing Multan to 60/3.
Maqsood forged another crucial partnership, this time with Rilee Rossouw for the fourth wicket. En route to the 63-run partnership, Maqsood completed his half-century. Multan was at 135/5 when Maqsood lost his wicket.
A late surge from Sohail Tanvir (24 in 9 balls, 3 fours, 2 sixes) then propelled them to 169/8. Afridi finished with three wickets, while James Faulkner picked up two.
Lahore got off to a poor start, losing three for 34 inside the Powerplay. Fakhar Zaman wasted too many balls at the top, while the ploy to promote Ben Dunk up the order did not work in their favour.
Halfway through their innings, Lahore found themselves at 52/5, requiring over 100 runs in the next 10 overs. They kept losing wickets regularly, getting bowled out for 89 in 15.1 overs. Faulkner’s 11-ball 22 was the highest score of the match.
Shahnawaz Dhani returned terrific figures of 3.1-1-5-4. Imran Khan picked up three wickets, and Blessing Muzarabani also contributed with a couple of wickets.
Brief Score: Multan Sultans 169/8 in 20 overs (Maqsood 60; Afridi 3-23) defeated Lahore Qalandars 89 in 15.1 overs (Faulkner 22; Dhani 4-5) by 80 runs. Player of the Match: Shahnawaz Dhani