Quetta Gladiator’s poor performance of 110 all out, questioned the captaincy of Sarfraz Ahmad and his team in the upcoming matches of the Pakistan Super League. Multan Sultan’s chased the target on the cost of Shan Masood’s only wicket with 39 balls left.
The 20-year-old right-arm bowler Ihsanullah delivered exceptional pace, taking five wickets for just 12 runs in four overs, with 16 of his 24 deliveries resulting in dot balls. These figures rank as the second-best for a Multan Sultans bowler, behind Umar Gul’s six for 24 against the same opposition in the 2018 tournament.
Quetta Gladiators had a poor start with Martin Guptill falling to Sameen Gul in the second over and Abdul Wahid Bangalzai becoming Abbas Afridi’s victim in the fifth. Their woes worsened when Ihsanullah was brought into the attack. In his first over, the sixth of the innings, he bowled out Sarfaraz Ahmed.
The highlight of the match came in the eighth over when Ihsanullah accounted for Jason Roy, the highest run getter in the innings with 27 off 18, and Iftikhar Ahmed on back-to-back deliveries that put the visitors at a precarious 46 for five. Mohammad Nawaz and Umar Akmal attempted to stabilize the innings with a 20-run partnership from 4.3 overs. However, Mohammad Nawaz was trapped LBW by the leg-spin of Usama Mir, who was the best bowler in the Pakistan Cup and recently made his debut for Pakistan in the ODI series against New Zealand. This dismissal triggered a collapse. Ihsanullah then dismissed Umar Akmal on the very next ball of the 13th over, followed by rattling Naseem Shah’s stumps three balls later, securing his maiden five-wicket haul in the format. Quetta Gladiators could only muster 110 runs as they were bowled out with seven balls to spare. Their second-best score came from Mohammad Hasnain, who made 22, while Sameen and Abbas picked up two wickets each.
The run chase proved to be a cakewalk for the home side as they crossed the line in just 13.3 overs. There was an early hiccup, however, when Nuwan Thushara, at the start of the second over, hit Shan Masood on pads in front of stumps, but after that, it was a smooth sailing for Multan Sultans. Rilee Rossouw, in his first match of the season, turned the game around in the fourth over by hitting Thushara for four consecutive fours. He went on to score his eighth HBL PSL half-century, ending with 78 not out off 42 balls. Multan Sultans’ captain, Mohammad Rizwan, contributed 28 runs off 34 balls as the two formed an unbeaten partnership of 108 runs.
This was Multan Sultans’ sixth win over Quetta Gladiators in 10 matches.
Scores in brief:
Quetta Gladiators 110 all out, 18.5 overs (Jason Roy 27, Mohammad Hasnain 22; Ihsanullah 5-12, Sameen Gul 2-20, Abbas Afridi 2-27)
Multan Sultans 111-1, 13.3 overs (Rilee Rossouw 78 not out, Mohammad Rizwan 28 not out)
Player of the match – Ihsanullah (Multan Sultans)