Multan Sultans beat Karachi Kings by 20 runs in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season nine match at the National Bank Cricket Arena on Sunday after a brilliant knock from wicket-keeper batter Usman Khan and good bowling from the Mohammad Rizwan-led side.
“We had planned to use powerplay to our credit and the way Usman Khan played it helped us massively,” Rizwan said at the post-match ceremony.
The right-handed batter is seen fielding during the match as Usman is also a wicketkeeper and comes one down for his side.
Sultans, who are at the top of the points table with 12 points, had set a target of 190 runs for the hosts in 20 overs. Kings, on the other hand, are fifth on the points table with two wins out of their five games.
Visitors did not get a good start as the South African batter Reeza Hendricks was out for one in the second over of the game.
But Khan kept his calm and completed his ton. He was not able to complete his century in the match against Lahore Qalandars where he got out for 96 in the last over of the game.
Khan was declared player of the match for his knock.
Rizwan added that his team would continue to play positive cricket as their performance might hamper the chances of other sides going ahead.
Losing side skipper Shan Masood admitted that they were off the pace “a little bit” and it was “a harsh lesson” for them as the ball was coming onto the bat better than in the previous game.
He went on to add that his side still has a chance to improve in the tournament but called for putting the best in the game to ensure victory.
Masood stated that he doesn’t want to make any excuses but they have been dealing with players’ fitness and availability.
Kings all-rounder Kieron Pollard left the tournament midway to attend the three-day pre-wedding ceremonies for Anant, the son of Mukes Ambani, and her fiancee Radhika Merchant in India’s Gujrat.
Multan Sultans Playing XI: Reeza Hendricks, Muhammad Rizwan (c & wk), Usman Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Usama Mir, Faisal Akram, Muhammad Ali.
Karachi Kings Playing XI: Shan Masood (c), Tim Seifert (wk), James Vince, Shoaib Malik, Leus Du Plooy, Irfan Khan Niazi, Mohammad Nawaz, Hassan Ali, Zahid Mehmood, Mir Hamza, Blessing Muzarabani
