LAHORE   -  Three wickets from Imran Khan Senior and 44 each from Khushdil Shah and player of the match Rilee Rossouw helped Multan Sultans register a 12-run win over Karachi Kings in the 16th fixture of the PSL6 at Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday evening.

According to information made available here on Thursday, Sultans also became the second side after Quetta Gladiators to defend a total in the ongoing season as they restricted Kings to 164 in their pursuit of 177. Kings had a poor start to their run-chase as they lost Sharjeel Khan (four off six) in the fourth over with just 14 runs on the board. They managed only 31 in the batting powerplay and hit only a six and a four in the first six overs. 

Martin Guptill failed to make his PSL debut a memorable one as he managed 11 off 16 balls. Najibullah Zadran (11 off six, one six) followed Guptill when he fell to Imran Tahir in the 12th over leaving Kings reeling at 77-3 with 100 runs still required from eight overs. Chadwick Walton joined Babar and the pair stitched a 77-run partnership off 45 balls for the fourth wicket to give Kings a chance to cross the line, but they failed to control the surging required run-rate. Babar returned unbeaten on 85. His 63-ball innings was studded with five fours and four sixes. Walton scored 35 off 23, and hit four fours and a six. Right-arm fast Imran Khan Sr took 3-28 while Imran Tahir took 2-27. 

Earlier, after being put into bat by Kings’ captain Imad Wasim, the Sultans got off to a flying start despite losing opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz (3 off four) to Imad in the first over of the match. Sohaib Maqsood joined M Rizwan and stitched a solid 36-run stand for the second wicket off just 18 balls. Sohaib contributed 31 off 14, which included five fours and a six. After the departure of Sohaib, Rizwan was joined by Rossouw who kept the scoreboard moving and never let the run-rate go down under 10. The left-hander struck seven boundaries in his 24-ball 44. 

The induction of Thisara Perera in the 11th over of the match put breaks on Sultans’ free flow of runs as he conceded only two runs in his first over and got the prized wicket of Rossouw. Rizwan (29 off 23, two fours, one six) got run out in the same over. The departure of both set batsmen dried up the runs for Sultans as it took 34 balls for them to strike a boundary after Rossouw’s dismissal. That the Sultans managed to score 176-5 was largely because of late onslaught from young left-handed batsman Khushdil who returned undefeated on 44 off 32. For Kings, Perera was the most successful bowler with two for 12, while Imad and Waqas took a wicket each.

Scorecard

MULTAN SULTANS:
R Gurbaz st Walton b Imad Wasim 3
Muhammad Rizwan run out 29
Sohaib Maqsood b Waqas Maqsood 31
Rilee Rossouw c Babar b Perera 44
S Hetmyer c Waqas Maqsood b Perera 7
Khushdil Shah not out 44
Sohail Tanvir not out 14
EXTRAS: (lb1, w3) 4
TOTAL: (5 wkts, 20 overs) 176
BOWLING: Imad Wasim 3-0-34-1, Mohammad Amir 4-0-42-0, Waqas Maqsood 4-0-33-1, Arshad Iqbal 2-0-20-0, Qasim Akram 4-0-34-0, Thisara Perera 3-0-12-2. 
KARACHI KINGS:
Sharjeel Khan run out 4
Babar Azam not out 85
Martin Guptill b Imran Tahir 11
N Zadran lbw b Imran Tahir 11
Chadwick Walton run out 35
T Perera c Rahmanullah b Imran Khan 0
Imad Wasim c Rizwan b Imran Khan 0
Qasim Akram c Sohaib b Imran Khan 10
EXTRAS: (lb2, w6) 8
TOTAL: (7 wkts, 20 overs) 164
BOWLING: Sohail Khan 4-0-33-0, Sohail Tanvir 4-0-28-0, Imran Khan 4-0-28-3, Shahnawaz Dhani 4-0-46-0, Imran Tahir 4-0-27-2.