Sports Desk
ABU DHABI: Multan Sultans bowled out in-form Islamabad United for 149 to qualify for Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 6’s final, their first-ever final qualification in the league.
Sohail Tanvir used his experience quite well to help Sultans’ bowlers gain the rhythm and dent United after they were set to chase 181 in 20 overs.
Sultans’ middle-order batter Sohaib Maqsood set the solid tone for his team to score 180 for the loss of five wickets in the PSL 6 Qualifier.
Maqsood continued his magnificent form and partnered with Johnson Charles to put Sultans in the driving seat. They both capitalize on the opportunity and scored 63 runs together to take Sultans to a commanding position.
Masood scored 59 off 41 balls, his fourth fifty in this year’s PSL laced with seven boundaries and three sixes. Charles fell just apart from his fifty but played a handy knock of 41 runs with the help of three boundaries and as many sixes.
Khushdil Shah once again proved out to be a solid finisher and smashed 42 runs off 22 balls with five sixes. He scored 29 runs in the second last over of Akif Javed.
With a poor last over, Akif finished with 1-50 in four overs whereas Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan bagged two wickets each.
In reply, United lost their in-form opener, Colin Munro, for naught. Sohail bagged him off just the second bowl of the inning. In his third over, Mohammad Akhlaq got run-out followed by Shadab Khan giving away a simple catch in the backward point region. The skipper went for naught, leaving his team tattering at 14-3.
Opener Usman Khuwaja, who made his maiden PSL hundred against Peshawar Zalmi in the group match, fought hard but managed to score 70 runs which weren’t enough in the run-chase. His inning included nine boundaries and a six.
Hussain Talat was the only other prominent scorer from United. The left-handed batter scored run-a-ball 25 including two boundaries.
Sohail and Blessing Muzarabani bagged three wickets each while Imran Tahir took two wickets. Imran Khan Sr managed to get a scalp.
TOSS
Sultans won the toss and decided to bat first
SQUADS
MULTAN SULTANS: Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Johnson Charles, Khushdil Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Imran Tahir, Blessing Muzarabani, Imran Khan Sr, Shahnawaz Dhani
ISLAMABAD UNITED: Usman Khuwaja, Colin Munro, Mohammad Akhlaq, Shadab Khan, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Waseem Jr, Akif Javed
