Imran Tahir proved to be the hero for Multan Sultans with the ball as they clinched a comfortable win over Karachi Kings in the opening game of the Pakistan Super League 2022 on January 27.
Tahir, the old warhorse, showed there is still cricket left in him, delivering a fantastic spell of three for 16 off his four overs. The experienced South African wrist-spinner not only maintained a tight leash on run-scoring but also built inroads into the Kings batting unit.
Among the rest of the Sultans’ bowlers, Shahnawaz Dahani (1/14) was Tahir’s biggest support on the night. At no stage of their innings did the Kings find any momentum and flow and eventually finished with just 124/5 from their 20 overs.
With Tahir & co making it a straightforward run-chase for Sultans’ batters, they could cut down risks and focus on building their innings sedately. Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan led his team from the front, scoring a watchful 52* off 47 balls. Sohaib Maqsood (30) and Shan Masood (26) also contributed nicely, as Sultans reached the target with just less than two overs left.
In stark contrast to the Sultans’ batting unit, the Kings crumbled to the pressure that Tahir and his support cast exerted. Only left-hander Sharjeel Khan (41) looked in rhythm at the crease for them in the first half, where their skipper Babar Azam (23) and No.3 Joe Clarke’s (26) painstaking vigils at the crease summed up Kings’ misery.
Babar’s innings was especially harmful to the Kings’ cause. The otherwise elegant anchor failed to time his knock properly and gave Sultans the early momentum into the game.
An insipid batting performance from Kings was followed by an iffy act with the ball. With hardly any runs to play around with, all of their bowlers – bar Mohammad Nabi (3/17) – could create or maintain the level of pressure that Tahir & co did.
Brief scores
Karachi Kings 124/5 in 20 overs (Khan 43, Clarke 26; Tahir 3/16) lost to Multan Sultans 126/3 in 18.2 overs (Rizwan 52*, Maqsood 30; Nabi 2/17) by 7 wickets
