KARACHI: Dominating Multan Sultans beat home team Karachi Kings by 11 runs to record their fifth win in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) match 11 at the National Bank Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing 208, the Kings were bowled out for 196 in 19.4 overs as the Sultans put up a brilliant display of bowling and managed to defend the target.
Openers Saath Baig and Jason Roy got off to a solid start with the openers, with runs flowing freely in the early stages of the game.
However, Arafat Minhas provided the breakthrough for Multan as he took his first wicket to end the opening stand on 29, before Roy was dismissed after a nine-ball 16 including two fours and a six.
In the fifth over, Arafat struck again after Salman Ali Agha’s poor run, two out of five balls, left the side 41-2 in 4.1 overs.
Karachi Kings scored 21 runs off 15 balls, including 4 fours, as Peter Siddle picked up his first wicket, dismissing opener Saad Baig.
Reza Hendricks and captain Moeen Ali steadied the innings, putting on 50 runs together to help the team cross the 100-run mark.
Hendricks was closing in on another PSL half-century, but he was dismissed by Mohammad Imran, who also finished with 67 off 32 balls after contributing 49 runs including 5 fours and 2 sixes.
On the first delivery of the 15th over, Ashton Turner hit two sixes off 23 balls to dismiss Moeen Ali for 27 as Karachi lost their fifth wicket, leaving the team at 129-5.
Abbas Afridi fought hard for his side, scoring runs with boundaries to ease the pressure, which took the team’s total past 150.
Another Sultan off-spinner Momin Qamar took the first wicket of the game and dismissed Khushdil Shah cheaply for 4 in six balls.
Arafat took his third wicket of the game, dismissing Shahid Aziz on the first ball, leaving the side on 160-7 in 16.4 overs.
Hasan Ali and Abbas did not go down without a fight as they aimed to change the result, with quick-fire runs coming in close to the target with 23 runs needed in two overs.
However, Peter Siddle provided the Sultans with a much-needed breakthrough, with Abbas Afridi scoring 34 off 16 balls with 3 fours and 2 sixes.
Kings suffered another setback in the closing stages of the game as Adam Jamba was run-out as the ninth batsman, while Hasan Ali was run out in Kings’ innings on 23 off 10 balls.
Batting first, Sultans scored 207 runs for the loss of 7 wickets in the allotted 20 overs.
The team got off to a poor start as Khushdil Shah was dismissed early for Karachi Kings, ducking out Steve Smith in the third ball of the second over to pick up a big wicket.
Awais Zafar and Josh Philip started the innings hand in hand, finding runs at regular intervals to take the team past the 50-run mark. The pair put on a strong 50 for the second wicket, maintaining the momentum and aiming for a solid total.
However, Khushdil took his second wicket to break a 66-run partnership, dismissing Phillips for 44 off 23 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes. The team was 77-2 in 7.2 overs.
Shaun Masood then came to the crease to support Awais Jafar as the duo continued to add valuable runs and take the team past 100.
Khushdil Shah was dismissed for the third time in his spell as he smashed Awais Jaffer’s 36 off 27 balls with 5 fours and a six.
In the very next over, Karachi Kings gained more control as Moeen Ali joined the attack and dismissed Shaun Masood, who scored a crucial 46 off 25 balls including 3 fours and 3 sixes.
Arafat Minhas and captain Ashton Turner kept the scoreboard ticking as the total crossed the 150-run mark, but Moeen again rose to the occasion as he dismissed Turner for 11 off one ball to pick up his second wicket.
Arafat Minhas was dismissed for 17 off 12 balls, including 2 fours, as fast bowler Hasan Ali slipped to his first wicket as Sultans slipped to six.
In the 19th over, Adam Jamba struck, Mohammad Nawaz scored 12 runs off a ball, he hit a six as the team were bowled out for 174-7 in 18.2 overs.
Mohammad Imran then came in to pile on the runs in the final over, hitting fours and 2 sixes to take the team past 200.
He finished unbeaten on 26 off eight balls with two fours and two sixes, while Mohammad Wasim remained unbeaten on seven.
Khushtil Shah was the best bowler for Kings, returning 3/35 from his four overs. Moeen Ali took 2 wickets and Adam Jamba and Hasan Ali took one each.