MULTAN: In a match that saw the momentum from one team to the other, it was all about who held their nerve. And Multan Sultans did it at the expense of Islamabad United in the end.
Both teams were in the game till its last ball, but Sultans found themselves slightly ahead to win the match by five wickets at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.
After keeping their chances alive at the death with a half-century from Reza Hendricks and a crucial innings from skipper Mohammad Rizwan at the top of the order, Multan were put on the line thanks to an 18-run cameo from Iftikhar Ahmed as they chased down one What did A target of 145 runs
Iftikhar was struggling with the bat at eight off 12 balls when he saw Hendricks lose his wicket to Temel Mills at the other end midway through the 18th over.
Feeling the responsibility as a senior player at the time, Iftikhar hit the left-armer over deep midwicket for a six as Multan needed 13 runs in the last two overs.
Naseem Shah caught Khushdil Shah off two balls to put Islamabad ahead, only for tailender David Wiley to spoil everything for them with four off the offside.
It was the last boundary of the match as Multan needed just four from the last over to win, bowled by Mills. All of them came out of singles, as Iftikhar came on for a desperate contest to give the hosts their second win in two games.
Islamabad have to rue the dropped catches of both Rizwan and Hendricks – the former was spilled by Naseem on the very first ball of the innings by Imad Wasim and the latter was given another life on 12.
While Rizwan capitalized on the opportunity with a 33-ball 44 before Shadab Khan’s flipper trapped Ibw, Hendricks made 58 off 46.
On a difficult surface, Rizwan was meeting the ball as it came into his zone, punishing sloppy balls on the leg side and hitting sixes off Faheem Ashraf and Obaid Shah.
The Pakistani wicketkeeper’s exploits took Multan to 44-1 by the end of the powerplay although opening partner Dawood Mullan lost to Naseem Ripper.
The right-hander played an inside-out stroke to the covers of Imad’s left-arm spin after sweeping the bowler for the third and fourth boundaries in the ninth over.
After Hendricks, who had been on a slow pace until then, smashed medium pacer Tymal Mills for two boundaries in the next over to take Multan to 77-1 at the halfway stage, before Rizwan fell.
In a match where the standard of fielding was below par, a rare effort by Islamabad’s Jordan Cox with Alex Hales on the boundary at wide long on resulted in the wicket of Yasir Khan.
Running from deep mid-wicket to get under the ball and catch it safely, Cox tossed the ball in the air as it crossed skirting the boundary in his pace for Hales to take it safely.
The equation was still in the balance as Multan looked for a big over. And it happened when Shadab came in to bowl the 17th over. Seizing the opportunity, Hendricks hit a second consecutive half-century before sweeping the spinner over deep midwicket for a six and hitting two boundaries.
The attack left Sultans needing 21 off 18 balls but Hendricks fell after four balls, sending Mills to Faheem Ashraf at deep third man before Iftikhar took center stage.
Islamabad were restricted to the limit by brilliant bowling shows from pacers Abbas Afridi and Muhammad Ali who ran through the United line-up as both took wickets and three wickets each thanks to their consistency and timely changes. got
While Abbas recorded figures of 3-33, Ali managed an even better 3-19.
Both went off from the word go as Islamabad struggled to capitalize on the power play with Multan keeping things tight with the new ball. Openers Hales and Colin Munro were dismissed early as a result of the pressure. While Hales lofted his top edge to catch Willie in the circle, Munro’s stumps rattled with Muhammad Ali’s pace.
Islamabad could score just 32 runs in the first six overs. It could have been worse for Khushdil if he had taken an easy catch to dismiss Cox off Abbas. Khushdil dropped another setter to give second life to Salman Ali Agha.
The Pakistani batsman hit a boundary in the next over and so did Cox as United posted 67-2 at the halfway mark.
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Cox looked dangerous when he hit fast bowler Ollie Stone for a huge six over wide long-on, but it ended for him after six balls when leg-spinner Usama Mir caught him for 41 IBW. done.
Usama struck again after two overs and sent back Azam Khan, who hit a four and a six. Imad followed as he played Abbas onto his stumps.
Despite the chaos at the other end, Salman hit two fours off Abbas and a six off Osama to cross the fifty-run mark to keep Islamabad’s scoreboard moving, but after the fast bowler bowled skipper Shadab. Became the second victim of the last over. .
Ali wrapped up United’s innings with two more wickets in the last over.
SCOREBOARD
ISLAMABAD UNITED:
Batsmen and methods of dismissal R B 4s 6s SR
Colin Munro b Ali 8 13 1 0 61.53
Alex Hales c Khushdal b Willie 2 8 0 0 25.00
Salman Ali Agha J Khushdal B Abbas 52 43 3 2 120.93
Jordan Cox LBW b Osama 41 282 2 146.42
Azam Khan C Wali B Osama 13 10 1 1 130.00
Imad Waseem B Abbas 0 3 0 0 0.00
Shadab Khan B Abbas 11910 122.22
Faheem Ashraf C Hendricks B Ali 1 2 0 0 50.00
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Naseem Shah run out 240 0 50.00
Obaid Shah b Ali 0 2 0 0 0.00
Tymal Mills Not Out 0 1 0 0 0.00
EXTRAS (B-5, LB-3, NB-3, W-3) 14
Total (All Out, 20 Overs) 144
Fall of wickets: 1-9 (Hales), 2-14 (Monroe), 3-82 (Cox), 4-100 (Azam), 5-105 (Imad), 6-140 (Shadab), 7-141 ( Salman), 8-141 (Faheem), 9-141 (Ubaid)
Bowling: Willi 4-0-26-1, Ali 4-0-19-3 (2nb), Stone 3.4-0-28-0 (2w), Abbas 4-0-33-3 (1w, 1nb), Osama 4-0-29-2, Pleasant 0.2-0-1-0
MULTAN SULTANS:
Batters & modes of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR
Mohammad Rizwan Ibw b Shadab 43 33 6 2 130.30
Dawood Malan b Naseem 0200 0.00
Reza Hendricks C Faheem B Mills 58 46 6 1 126.08
Yasir Khan C Hales B Imad 8 11 0 0 72.72
Iftikhar Ahmed not out 18 17 0 1 105.88
Khushdal Shah J Shadab B Naseem 3 40 0 75.00
David Willey not out 761 0 116.66
EXTRAS (W-8) 8
Total (for five wickets, 19.5 wickets) 145
Not batting: Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Muhammad Ali, Ollie Stone
Fall of wickets: 1-6 (Malan), 2-77 (Rizwan), 3-96 (Yasser), 4-125 (Hendricks), 5-134 (Khushdal)
Bowling: Naseem 4-0-27-2 (3w), Faheem 2-0-15-0 (2w), Obaid 2-0-15-0, Imad 4-0-22-1, Mills 3.5-0-31 -1, Shadab 4-0-35-1
Result: Multan Sultans won by five wickets.
Player of the Match: Muhammad Ali
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