Islamabad United continued their winning streak by defeating Multan Sultans by 47 runs in the seventh Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 10 match played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
Chasing a daunting 203-run target, the Sultans’ batting unit unfolded on a meagre 155 in 18.4 overs despite captain Mohammad Rizwan’s anchoring knock.
The visitors got off to a shaky start to the run chase as they lost Shai Hope (one) on just the fifth delivery of the innings with just three runs on the board.
Following the early hiccup, Usman Khan and Rizwan attempted stabilising the innings by putting together a cautious 59-run partnership for the second wicket.
The crucial stand culminated with Usman’s dismissal on the penultimate delivery of the batting powerplay, bowled by Imad Wasim. The wicketkeeper batter scored 31 off 20 deliveries with the help of three fours and two sixes.
Put into bat first, the United’s star-studded batting lineup recovered and managed to accumulate 202/6 in 20 overs despite regular blows in the middle phase of their innings.
The opening pair of Farhan and Andries Gous (nine) gave United a solid platform to amass a massive total by putting together 45 runs in 4.4 overs until the latter fell victim to David Willey on the penultimate delivery of the fifth over.
Farhan then shared a brief 35-run partnership for the second wicket with Colin Munro and walked back in the ninth over after top-scoring for the United with a 36-ball 53, laced with seven fours and two sixes.
Munro then took the reins of United’s batting expedition and was involved in brief partnerships with skipper Shadab Khan and wicketkeeper batter Azam Khan before finally perishing in the 16th over.
The top-order batter scored 48 off 25 deliveries with the help of four fours and three sixes.
Following his dismissal, returning Haider Ali and bowling all-rounder Jason Holder added valuable runs at the backend by adding a quickfire 49 runs for the sixth wicket.
The crucial stand culminated with Haider's dismissal on the final delivery of the penultimate over. The right-handed batter smashed three fours and two sixes on his way to a 16-ball 33.
For Sultans, Chris Jordan picked up two wickets for 41 runs in his four overs, while Ubaid Shah, Usama Mir and Willey made one scalp apiece.
Islamabad United: Andries Gous, Sahibzada Farhan, Colin Munro, Haider Ali, Azam Khan (wk), Shadab Khan (cap), Jason Holder, Muhammad Shahzad, Imad Wasim, Naseem Shah and Riley Meredith.
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (cap & wk), Shai Hope, Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kamran Ghulam, Michael Bracewell, David Willey, Chris Jordan, Usama Mir, Ubaid Shah and Mohammad Hasnain.