LAHORE: Defending champions Lahore Qalandars beat Multan Sultans by 20 runs in a rain-shortened 11th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) series at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.
With the match reduced to 13 overs apiece, Sultans captain Ashton Turner won the toss and elected to field first, and the move backfired.
Right-handed opener Mohammad Naeem top-scored with 60 off 28 balls with 4 sixes and several fours, followed by his opening partner Pervez Hossain Amon with 45 off 19 balls with 5 sixes and 2 fours.
Top-order batsman Abdullah Shafiq contributed brilliantly with a 14-ball 33.
Debutant Muhammad Ismail took 2 wickets for 47 runs in his four overs for Sultans, while Peter Siddle and Faisal Akram claimed one wicket each.
Chasing a tough target of 186 in 13 overs, Sultans managed to post 165/5 despite a brilliant performance from Shaun Masood and an unbeaten half-century from captain Ashton Turner.
Turner scored an unbeaten 52 off 22 balls with 5 sixes and 2 fours while Masood scored 44 off 18 balls with 7 fours and a six.
Mustafizur Rahman sparked the Qalandars’ bowling with 2 for 37 in his two overs, while Ubaid Shah, Sikandar Raza and skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi impressed with a scalp each.
The 20-run win secured Qalandars second place in the ongoing eight-team tournament and lifted them to second spot in the PSL 11 table with four points from three matches, with their arch-rivals Karachi Kings at the top with six points from as many games.
Instead, it marked the first defeat for Multan Sultans and despite boasting four points after three matches, they slipped one place to third due to a lower net run rate than the Qalandars.
| Teams | Competitions | succeeds | Losses | No result | points | Net flow rate |
| Kings of Karachi | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0.486 |
| Lahore Colleagues | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1.546 |
| Sultans of Multan | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0.303 |
| Peshawar Salmi | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0.674 |
| Islamabad United | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0.133 |
| Quetta Gladiators | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0.093 |
| Rawalpindi’s | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.556 |
| Hyderabad Kingsmen | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | -2.077 |
Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United are fourth and fifth respectively as both the teams have three points but the latter have a better net run rate and have played a game less.
The previous edition’s runner-up, Quetta Gladiators, are sixth in the PSL 11 standings with just two points from three games, while debutants Rawalpindis and Hyderabad Kingsmen occupy the remaining two spots, yet to register a win.