PSL 2018, Match 16 Review: Multan Sultans strengthen their position at the top

A scintillating and absorbing game between Multan Sultans and the title holders Peshawar Zalmi was the exact spice we missed this season. However, the PSL is one platform which never fails to disappoint the fans in any area and gets all the boxes ticked. This season lacked a high-scoring entertainer and in the second leg of matches at Dubai commenced with one such game.

Batting first, Ahmed Shehzad and Kumar Sangakkara provided a brilliant start for the Sultans. They chipped in with crucial boundaries and Sangakkara even clobbered a couple of sixes. The duo started cautiously and just when they were accelerating, Sangakkara walked back. The Lankan legend and Shehzad added 51 runs for the first wicket.

Sohail Maqsood joined the party and changed the entire mood in the stadium. He was in a mood to torment the bowlers and he did so quite brilliantly. Right from the outset, he went against the seamers and the umpires had a lot of stretching to do. Even the experienced campaigners like Hasan Ali and Wahab Riaz had no answer to his onslaught.

Maqsood reached his fifty in double quick time and Shehzad was stuck at the other end playing the second fiddle. These both individuals added a 50-run stand for the second wicket and this kept them in the driver’s seat. Towards the end, Maqsood intensified his destruction and smashed quite a few big ones, with good support coming from Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik.

Multan registered 183 runs losing 3 wickets in their 20 overs. Sohaib Maqsood scored 85 runs and remained unbeaten off just 42 deliveries. His innings included 4 fours and 7 sixes. Liam Dawson bowled exceptionally for the Sultans, giving away just 17 runs in his 4 overs and picking up a wicket.

Zalmi come close, but quite enough

Andre Fletcher gave a perfect start to the innings hitting a big six in the first over, but he got dismissed almost immediately. Kamran Akmal and Dwayne Smith did manage to spend a lot of time in the middle, but their scoring rate was a tad bit low when in parallel with the required rate.

Both these players failed to live up to the expectations and got dismissed before the 8th over. But the stand-in skipper Mohammad Hafeez took the onus upon himself to take the side over the line. He first stitched a brilliant partnership with Riki Wessels and got the innings going. They added 49 runs for the 4th wicket and provided some lifeline.

After Wessels got dismissed at a wrong time, in came Liam Dawson to ignite false hopes amongst the Zalmi fans. He spanked 3 sixes in his short stay at the crease and registered a quickfire 32 to keep Zalmi alive. But innings was a little too short for the target and given he had stayed for long, the result could’ve been different.

Hafeez got to his fifty shortly after Dawson was dismissed. Post then, boundaries dried up and Zalmi fell a good 19 runs short of the target. After all the low-scoring thrillers, we finally witnessed some big hitting exploits from the batsmen. Sultans consolidated their position at the top by registering their 4th win of the campaign.

Brief Scores

Multan Sultans: 183/3 in 20 overs (Sohaib Maqsood 85*, Ahmed Shehzad 37; Liam Dawson 1/17)

Peshawar Zalmi: 164/8 in 20 overs (Mohammad Hafeez 56; Sohail Tanvir 3/14, Kieron Pollard 3/34)

Player of the match: Sohaib Maqsood