Priyanka Tiwari
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At the Multan Cricket Stadium on April 22, the Lahore Qalandars were defeated by Multan Sultans in the PSL 2023 edition, marking Multan’s inaugural home victory in the league as they took the match by 33 runs. Yasir Khan brought the heat with his 87 runs off 44 balls, enabling the Sultans to score 228/5. Qalandars later capitulated at 195/9 despite Sikandar Raza and Sam Billings leading the charge as their middle order.
Multan’s Attack from the First Ball:
Rizwan, Multan's captain, made the decision to bat first, and brought the fire in the first round with 32 of 17 on the scoreboard. Yasir was the one who put on Soers as he smashed the double bender while his aggressive hitting style fueled Khan's 87 off 44 obliterated the balls. Along with 79 (out of 89}) in the power play, they formed a stronghold for a total of 43 balls. Khan, along with his performing partner Usman Khan, managed to score an impressive 39 while attemting only 24 delivered ball to score.
Iftikhar Ahmed was crucial with his punch Multan involving 40* of 18 unobstructed transitions struck later on. This later paced Multan to score a defecit turning 228. To aid assist supressing stopping the sultans eradicating the scoring fom charging cages, Rishad Hussin, Sikandar Raza, and later on defended midinnings were crucial.
Qalandars’ Response Falls Short
As always, Fakhar Zaman started the chase with an explosive 32 runs from 14 balls before getting dismissed by up-and-coming pacer Ubaid Shah. The defeat of a wicket after every few balls quashed all hopes of the Qalandars keeping up with the scoring rate required to be competitive.
Billings (43 off 23) and Raza (50* off 27) countered the Sangha's domination, however, they were pressed against the clock. With Ubaid Shah smashing the Qalandars, Multan all but ensured their victory with a tighter grip on the window using Ubaid Shah’s brilliant performance of 3 for 37. This definitely helped Multan secure a highly dominating win.
Detailed Estimates:
Multan Sultans: 228/5 in 20 overs (Yasir Khan 87, Iftikhar Ahmed 40*, Rishad Hossain 2/45)
Lahore Qalandars: 195/9 in 20 overs (Sikandar Raza 50*, Sam Billings 43, Ubaid Shah 3/37)
