MULTAN – Multan Sultans on Sunday defeated Quetta Gladiators by 13 runs in match number 11 of Pakistan Super League season nine (PSL 9) in Multan.
Mohammad Ali and David Willey produced magical bowling spells as they claimed three wickets each, restricting Gladiators to 167 as they were chasing 181-run target.
Khawaja Nafay made 36 while Rilee Rossouw scored 30 as no other could perform up to the mark due to stunning bowling by Sultans.
Earlier, Sultans side set a target of 181 runs for Quetta Gladiators. Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Khan made 51 and 14, respectively, taking a strong start for Sultans. Reeza Hendricks remained top scorer with 72 runs while Tayyab Tahir made unbeaten 35, helping their side to set a tough target for visiting side.
Sultans led by Rizwan remained at the top so far with the finest performance in the season of the PSL. Under the leadership of a Pakistani wicketkeeper batter, the team remains at the top, securing 3 wins out of 4 games and accumulating 6 points with a net run rate of +0.812.
The team from Southern Punjab is expected to perform better after outclassing Peshawar Zalmi.
Quetta Gladiators, on the other hand, remain unbeaten team in a tournament, having triumphed in all three league matches so far. The team under the new skipper holds 6 points and a positive net run rate of +0.686.
The pitch at Multan Cricket Stadium is currently slow, making it difficult for batters to score big. The outfield is also slow, while the longer boundaries are making it difficult to score.
So far, the average score remains at 155 on Multan pitch. Due to the dew factor later in the innings, the team winning the toss is likely to choose to bowl first.
Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators Squads
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Dawid Malan, Reeza Hendricks, Yasir Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, David Willey, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani
Quetta Gladiators: Saud Shakeel, Jason Roy, Rilee Rossouw (c), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Khawaja Nafay, Shefane Rutherford, Akeal Hosein, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Wasim, Mohammad Hasnain