Rizwan’s fifty, Iftikhar’s cameo inspire Sultans to third consecutive win

Multan: A breezy cameo by Iftikhar Ahmed and a fighting half-century by skipper Mohammad Rizwan helped Multan Sultans win their third game on the trot in HBL PSL 9, on Wednesday night at Multan Cricket Stadium.

The defending champions, Lahore Qalandars, meanwhile lost their third consecutive game in the tournament as Sultans completed the highest successful chase in HBL PSL history at their home ground.

In pursuit of the 167-run chase, Multan Sultans found themselves in early trouble.

Shaheen Shah Afridi started with a maiden over, while Zaman Khan eked out the scalp of Dawid Malan for a golden duck in the following over with the magnificent yorker. Shaheen returned to remove the dangerous Reeza Hendricks (9, 7b, 2x4s), who holed out to Fakhar Zaman in extra cover leaving Multan 15-2 in 2.5 overs.

Yasir Khan and Mohammad Rizwan stitched a 38-run third-wicket partnership to bring a semblance of stability to the Multan innings.

George Linde struck on the last ball of the eighth over to dismiss Yasir (8, 13b, 1×4), who was stumped trying to hit down the ground.