Istafa Ali
In the third encounter of Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Sunday, the Multan Sultans defeated the Karachi Kings with a commanding 55-run victory.
The bowlers of the Sultans proved to be competent as they held the Kings to 130/8 while putting up a strong defence against 186. On his PSL debut, pacer Muhammad Ali recorded figures of 3/23. Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza, and Daniel Sams were all fired by him.
After being named Mohammad Rizwan’s deputy of Sultans for PSL 9, David Willey scored 2/23, while Abbas Afridi came back with 2/16.
At PSL 9, Multan Sultans defeat Karachi Kings by 55 runs.
Usama Mir, the spinner, had an economical spell, scoring figures of 1/14.
The Kings’ best player was the veteran Shoaib Malik, who scored 54 runs off of 35 balls. West Indies power batter Kieron Pollard gave some late resistance to cut the lead to 28*, but captain Shan Masood finished with 30 off 31.
Dawid Malan and Reeza Hendricks had earlier lifted the home team to 185/2 with quick half-centuries.
Batting first, the Sultans amassed a respectable score because of a long partnership between Malan and Hendricks at the second wicket.
With just 17 runs scored, Mir Hamza trapped home team captain Mohammad Rizwan (11) leg before wicket on the opening delivery of the third over, giving the home team a completely different start to their innings.
Hendricks joined Malan in the middle, giving the Sultans a steady start, so they were undeterred by the early blow.
The pair struck half-centuries at a respectable strike rate while batting with a strong sense of purpose to keep the scoreboard moving.
When Dawid Malan misjudged Daniel Sams’ slower delivery and hit the ball straight to stand-in fielder Irfan Khan at deep midwicket, their 121-run partnership came to an end in the 17th over.
Malan amassed a 51 from 41 balls after smashing four boundaries and a six.
Conversely, Hendricks maintained his composure and batted steadily, scoring an undefeated 79 off 54 deliveries that featured three sixes and seven boundaries.
Alongside Khushdil Shah, who made a significant late-inning cameo, he contributed 47 runs for the third wicket, creating yet another vital partnership for the Sultans.
With four boundaries and 28 off 13, Khushdil helped Hendricks increase the Sultans’ total.
Mir Hamza and Daniel Sams each took one wicket for the Kings.
