Multan Sultans have reached 123/4 after 15 overs against Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 qualifier at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
Akif Javed got the first and important wicket of Mohammad Rizwan in the second over after he made an appeal for caught behind. The Sultans’ skipper could not get the bat on the ball.
United’s skipper Shadab Khan was able to break the partnership of Sohaib Maqsood (55) and Shan Masood (25) after the latter fell lbw, courtesy a good length ball turning in from outside off.
Two bowls after sending Masood back to the pavilion, Shadab was able to dismiss an important batsman of the Sultans, Rilee Rossouw, for a duck.
However, after the quick dismissals, Jhonson Charles (41) and Maqsood were able to build a 40-run partnership to help their team bounce back in the match.
Maqsood hit a half-century in the 13th over of the match, with six fours and three sixes.
In the 15th over, Charles muscled a straight shot to deep midwicket, but Iftikhar Ahmed took a good catch — getting Faheem Ashraf his first wicket.
Sultans had won the toss and decided to bat first against United.
The winners of this game will make it to the June 24 final.
The losers will meet the winners of the eliminator 1, which is scheduled to be held between Karachi Kings and former winners Peshawar Zalmi at 11 pm PST today.
Table toppers United have been in a red-hot form since losing their first Abu Dhabi-leg match to the Qalandars in a last-over thriller on 9 June.
The Shadab Khan-led side has since won five matches on the trot to finish with a staggering eight wins in 10 league-stage matches. They had won three out of their first four matches of the Karachi leg.
The foreign opening duo of Usman Khawaja and Colin Munro has dazzled for them in the Abu Dhabi leg.
Usman, the Australian international batsman, posted the only century of the Abu Dhabi leg, leading his side to victory in a record-breaking, high-scoring thriller against Peshawar Zalmi last week.
Playing XI:
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (captain, wk), Shan Masood, Sohaib Maqsood, Johnson Charles, Rilee Rossouw, Khushdil Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Blessing Muzarabani, Imran Khan, Imran Tahir, Shahnawaz Dahani
Islamabad United: Colin Munro, Usman Khawaja, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Shadab Khan (captain), Hussain Talat, Ifthikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Hassan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Muhammad Waseem, Akif Javed
