Khushdil Shah and Rilee Rossouw played short but impactful knocks to guide Multan Sultans to beat Karachi Kings by seven wickets with two balls to spare
Babar Azam-led Kings won the toss and elected to bat first. They could not have asked for a worse start, as the skipper was dismissed off the very first ball of the second over, getting trapped in front of a Rumman Raees delivery.
The Pakistan captain was sent back to the pavilion after scoring just two runs, and also ended up taking an unsuccessful review. Joe Clarke and Sharjeel Khan then steadied the Karachi ship as Clarke took on the role of the aggressor. He struck two sixes off veteran Imran Tahir’s bowling but was eventually dismissed, trying one shot too many against the wily customer.
Sharjeel was also dismissed shortly after Clarke, and from that point, no Karachi batsman was able to stand his ground, which meant that they relied on cameos from Rohail Nazir, Afghan stalwart Nabi, and a ferocious finish from Imad Wasim which took the Kings to 174/6 at the end of 20 overs.
Multan openers Shan Masood and Mohammed Rizwan got off to a cautious start, with both batsmen taking their time to get their eye in. Both Masood and Rizwan struck a flurry of boundaries before going back into a shell.
The openers did put up 100 runs for the first wicket, but it came at the expense of the run rate, leaving the Sultans with 75 runs to get in 34 balls at the time of Masood’s dismissal. Rizwan then took matters into his own hands, getting some quick boundaries, before also falling for a well made 76, with his side needing 45 runs in 20 balls.
With the game looking increasingly out of reach for the Sultans, all-rounder Shah came in and turned things around, putting in a superb display as he took Chris Jordan’s penultimate over for 20 runs.
With nine runs needed off the last over, Rossouw and Shah finished matters off easily, as the Proteas veteran ended the game with a ridiculously skilful shot that cleared the ropes, giving the Sultans yet another win, as they sit on top of the table, as Rizwan received the man of the match award for his innings of 76.
Brief scores
Karachi Kings: 174/6 in 20 overs (Clarke 40; Wasim 32; Dahani 2/44)
Multan Sultans: 176/3 in 19.4 overs (Rizwan 76; Masood 45; Hamza 2/24)
