DUBAI Mohammad Irfan bowled a fierce first over, almost got rid of the Tamim Iqbal (thanks to the DRS the decision was overturned) and a ball later gave his team the ideal start by getting rid of the PSL run-machine, Kamran Akmal. This set the tone for the rest of the match; Zalmi were on the back foot during most parts. The electrifying almost full house got the worth of its money; despite not being a nail-biter the match had enough moments to lift the crowd.Multan Sultans, the debutants of the PSL had a point to prove. Their team selection was questioned after the draft, they had leftovers from other teams, not that they had a choice but boy did they put up a show tonight. Their opening fast bowlers, Sohail Tanvir and Mohammed Irfan kick started the proceedings on the right note. They bowled with venom; shared 3 wickets. Junaid Khan and Hardus Viljoen gave perfect support, helped restrict Zalmi to 151. Imran Tahir was a tad expensive with figures of 37 for 1.The absence of enough power hitters may have been a concern for Multan Sultans, but they kicked off their campaign with a chase ideally suited to their line-up.The 152-run target was clinically chased down courtesy a typically composed half-century by Kumar Sangakkara and an unbeaten 42 from the captain Shoaib Malik. Defending champions Peshawar Zalmi didn't bowl badly, but they simply didn't have enough runs on a greener, faster strip than is not commonly associated with the UAE.Darren Sammy's men began shakily, thanks to a brilliant opening spell by Tanvir, who swung the ball in sharply. He was expertly backed up by Irfan. Irfan's extra bounce proved particularly troubling for last year's leading run-scorer Kamran Akmal, who fell for a duck attempting to pull cross the line. A half-century from Mohammad Hafeez kept the innings together, while supporting roles from Dwayne Smith and Haris Sohail helped Zalmi regroup even though their run rate was always a concern. Sammy's 29 off 11 balls helped them get past 150, but in the end, it was the early sluggishness that they were left to bemoan.Without their star fast bowler, Hasan Ali (who might miss a few more matches as he is under treatment) Zalmi had limited options. Their fourth, fifth and sixth bowler failed to restrict the opposition batsmen. Chris Jordan, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Asghar had combined figures of 12 overs, 68 runs and 3 wickets while rest of the bowlers were taken to the cleaners; went 76 runs from 7.1 overs. Veteran batsmen, Sangakkara and Malik anchored the innings for Sultans after the early wicket of Ahmad Shahzad. Sangakkara scored his third PSL fifty ensuring his team reached close to the finish line. Malik played a perfect captain's knock, scoring 42 off 30.With Sultans needing 38 off four overs, the game was in the balance. Wahab Riaz had one over left while specialist death bowler Chris Jordan had two. This meant at least one over would be bowled by someone who Sammy ideally didn't want at the end. The scenario placed even more pressure on Wahab and Jordan to nail their three overs to give the other bowler enough runs to play with. But Jordan's over went 12, thanks to some sloppy fielding and a fortuitous outside edge off Pollard's bat. Wahab too ended up conceding 11 in his subsequent over, thanks again to some poor fielding at the boundary. By the time it came to final over, Hammad Azam had just six runs to defend. Malik put paid to any thoughts he might have harboured of being an unlikely hero by smashing the first ball for six to seal the deal.