PSL 2023: Islamabad United trump Multan Sultans

Islamabad United defeated Multan Sultans by two wickets in the 24th fixture of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Pindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi today.

Earlier, United had won the toss and put the Sultans to bat, who then set a massive target of 206 runs for United to chase.

During the game, Faheem Ashraf stunned everyone by pulling off an unbelievable chase for United, who were nowhere near the target in the last five overs. However, Faheem stood out for his team and won the match after a last-over thriller.

In need of 18 runs off the last over bowled by Mohammad Ilyas, Faheem struck two boundaries and six to make the target chasable. The left-handed batter, earlier, set the tone for his team while partnering with skipper Shadab for a 39-run partnership.

In the end, he and Mohammad Wasim Jr scored 28 runs off 12 balls to bring United back in the chase. His match-winning knock accounted for 51 runs off 26 balls laced with five boundaries and two maximums.

Earlier, Shadab (44) and Colin Munro (40) scored 59 off 30 balls together to tackle Sultans' bowlers in the middle overs. The two batters played an important role in United's chase which is now registered as a record of the highest successful run-chase in PSL's history.

Anwar Ali bagged three wickets while Ihsanullah and Usama Mir took two wickets each for the Sultans.

In the first innings, Tim David announced his arrival in PSL 8 with a bang as the right-handed batter scored fifty off just 20 balls to help Sultans post a big total.

David, who made his T20I debut for Australia last year, played a powerful knock to race the score of Sultans in presence of well-set Shan Masood.

The right-handed batter went berserk at United's bowlers who were clueless in front of him. He scored fifty off just 20 balls, the third joint-fastest in PSL, to mark his entry.

Overall, he scored 60 off 27 balls including four boundaries and five maximums to help Sultans post 205-5 in 20 overs. The arrival of David worked for Shan too as the left-hander raced his score to contribute 75 off 50 in the team's big total.

On a batting-friendly wicket, Shan set his tone perfectly after David tackled the bowlers from one end. He struck 12 boundaries to help the Sultans remain in contention to put up a solid fight after losing a couple of quick wickets right after the powerplay.

Shan alongside skipper Mohammad Rizwan gave a steady start to the 2021 PSL champions. They yielded 57 runs together in the powerplay. United's captain Shadab provided a crucial breakthrough to his team as he bagged Rizwan right after the powerplay in the seventh over.

Rizwan scored 33 off 18 balls before getting dismissed off Shadab's clever bowling. He edged the ball behind the stumps with Azam Khan taking a sharp catch. After Shadab's back-to-back strikes after the powerplay, Shan stood firm and brought up another PSL fifty.

Shan scored 80 off 38 balls with David contributing a major part in the third-wicket partnership. It turned out to be in favour of the Sultans as they will now look to defend the total to qualify for the playoffs.

For United, Shadab and Wasim bagged two wickets each while Faheem took one.

Islamabad United have won the toss and decided to bowl first against Multan Sultans in the 24th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 8 in Rawalpindi on Tuesday.

Playing XIs

Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Shan Masood, Rilee Rossouw, David Miller, Tim David, Kieron Pollard, Anwar Ali, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ilyas, Ihsanullah

Islamabad United: Alex Hales, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Colin Munro, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Mubasir Khan, Rumman Raees, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Fazalhaq Farooqi