LAHORE: Multan Sultans have been officially knocked out of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 following a humiliating defeat to Karachi Kings in the 20th match, held at Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing a daunting target of 205, Multan had a nightmare start as skipper Mohammad Rizwan fell for a second-ball duck in the second over, dismissed by Abbas Afridi with the score at just 3-1. The next over saw Mir Hamza strike, removing wicketkeeper-batter Usman Khan for only one run.
The Sultans’ top order crumbled under pressure, with Yasir Khan – who showed brief resistance with a 26-run knock off 17 balls – becoming the third wicket to fall inside the powerplay, leaving the side struggling at 34-3 in 4.2 overs.
Only Kamran Ghulam offered any stability in the middle order, remaining unbeaten for most of the innings and scoring 28 runs. However, the rest of the batting lineup failed to step up. Curtis Campher delivered key blows, dismissing Mohammad Nabi (12) and Iftikhar Ahmed (8), reducing Multan to 76-5 in 10.2 overs.
Michael Bracewell (2) and David Willey (0) offered no resistance, as the collapse continued with Multan reeling at 85-7 by the 11.4-over mark. Khushdil Shah then removed the set batter Kamran Ghulam, further denting Sultans’ hopes at 88-8 in 12.4 overs.
Mohammad Nabi wrapped up the tail by taking his third wicket, dismissing Usama Mir for just 1 run. Mir Hamza claimed the final wicket of Ubaid Shah (14), sealing Multan’s fate with just one win from eight matches in the tournament.
Earlier, Karachi Kings opted to bat first and got off to a flying start, thanks to aggressive hitting from openers Tim Seifert and captain David Warner.
Though Ubaid Shah brought a brief respite by dismissing Omair Bin Yousuf for 1 with the score at 58-3, Irfan Khan Niazi and James Vince built a crucial fourth-wicket partnership.
By the 12th over, Karachi had recovered to 112-3, with Niazi unbeaten on 39 and Vince on 33. The pair added 78 runs before Curtis Campher ended the stand, dismissing Niazi for 40 off 33 balls, leaving the Kings at 138-4 in 14.5 overs.
James Vince continued his fine run of form in PSL 10, bringing up another half-century to push Karachi to 155-4 after 17 overs. He was joined by Khushdil Shah, who made an immediate impact with a blistering cameo.
The Kings added 16 runs in the final over, finishing at an impressive 204-4. Vince remained unbeaten on 65, while Khushdil hammered 33 off just 13 balls, setting the stage for a dominant win.
Shaheen, Haris reach major T20 milestone
Lahore Qalandars’ pace duo, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, reached a significant career milestone during their match against Islamabad United in the ongoing HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL X), becoming the latest Pakistani bowlers to claim 300 wickets in T20 cricket.
Shaheen achieved the feat in his 216th T20 match, becoming the fastest Pakistani and fourth-fastest bowler globally to reach 300 T20 wickets.
Haris Rauf followed closely, accomplishing the milestone in his 228th match, making him the second-fastest Pakistani to reach the mark.
The previous record for the fastest Pakistani to 300 T20 wickets was jointly held by Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz, who achieved the milestone in 256 innings each.
The achievement marks a major personal and national milestone for both bowlers in the shortest format of the game.
Most wickets in T20s by Pakistan bowlers:
Riaz: 413 (344 innings)
Sohail Tanvir: 389 (381 innings)
Mohammad Amir: 371 (315 innings)
Imad Wasim: 353 (376 innings)
Shahid Afridi: 347 (323 innings)
Shadab Khan: 336 (297 innings)
Shaheen Shah Afridi: 300 (215 innings)
Afridi has taken nine wickets in seven matches during PSL 10, with best figures of 3/34 so far.