Multan Sultans pulled off a comprehensive victory over Peshawar Zalmi in the final in Abu Dhabi on Thursday to clinch their maiden Pakistan Super League title. Sultans finally lifted the coveted trophy for the first time in PSL history after enjoying all-round dominance over the team Zalmi.
As it happened, the Sultans posted a daunting total of 206/4 in their allotted 20 overs after being asked to bat first upon losing the toss. When Zalmi would’ve hoped to put Sultans under pressure, they instead saw them excel. Multan opening batsmen – Shan Masood (37) and skipper Muhammad Rizwan (30) – gave their team a sedate but solid start and laid a nice foundation for the middle-order batsmen.
Middle-order batsmen Sohaib Maqsood (65*) and Rilee Rossouw (50) then carried the momentum forward and struck fantastic half-centuries. Their 100-run third-wicket partnership set Sultans on their way to a score past 200, with Khushdil Shah (15*) also playing a useful cameo. Maqsood went unbeaten after a stellar 35-ball knock, striking gold when the occasion called for it.
Sameen Gul (2/26) and Mohammad Irfan (0/27) were the pick of the bowlers for Zalmi that had the rest of their bowling unit proving quite expensive on the big night. Zalmi skipper Wahab Riaz (0/52) and Amad Butt (0/52) had identically poor figures. And though Mohammad Imran ended with two wickets, he conceded 47 runs off his four overs.
Once their bowlers failed to contain the Multan batting unit, the onus was on Zalmi’s batsmen to recover the lost ground and bring them back in the contest. However, they struggled in the chase and managed to get only 159/9 in response to Sultans massive score.
Senior pros Kamran Akmal (36) and Shoaib Malik (48) batted well for their respective knocks, but the rest of the line-up couldn’t get going against a Multan attack that nearly stitched together a complete bowling performance.
Imran Khan (2/27), Blessing Muzurabani (2/26) took the game away from the opposition with their tight spells and couple of important breakthroughs each before wrist-spinner Imran Tahir (3/33) ran through the lower-order with a hat-trick to put the cherry on the cake for Sultans.
Brief scores
Multan Sultans 206/4 in 20 overs (Sohaib Maqsood 65*, Rilee Rossouw 50; Sameen Gul 2/26, Mohammad Irfan 2/47) beat Peshawar Zalmi 159/9 in 20 overs (Shoaib Malik 48, Kamran Akmal 36; Imran Tahir 3/33, Blessing Muzarabani 2/26) by 47 runs.
