DUBAI - Helped by all-round performance by Daniel Christian, Multan Sultan inflicted convincing victory on lackluster Islamabad United in must-win encounter here at Dubai Stadium on late Tuesday night.
Chasing a very modest total of 122 runs for victory, Sultans got off to perfect start, as both openers Umar Siddiq and Vince put on 54 runs opening stand, especially Umar played with lot of authority and showed maturity, as the youngster scored 46. Vince was first to go, as Sultan’s lost few quick wickets and wasted a lot of precious deliveries before they finally registered 6-wicket victory with 11 balls to spare. Sultan’s completely forgot the crucial run-rate factor, which could be highly decisive as only Quetta Gladiators are enjoying comfortable position on the top of the ladder board, while rest positions are still up for grab.
All-round Christian’s 19-3 & 16* guide Multan to victory
Sultan’s skipper Shoaib Malik made unbeaten 23 and player of the match Daniel made unbeaten 16. Stand-in-skipper Shadab Khan was pick of United bowlers with 1 wickets for 16 in 4 overs, while Rumman Raees, Patel and youngster Musa also chipped in with a wicket apiece conceding 19, 24 and 43 runs respectively.
Earlier, PSL-4 resumed after one-day break and shifted back to Dubai from Sharjah. Multan skipper Shoaib Malik won the toss and opted to field first on somewhat cold evening, as powerful winds were blowing and Malik was aware about his fast bowling options. United started without skipper Muhammad Sami, who is still nursing injury which made way for Shadab Khan to lead the champions.
United got off to decent start as explosive Luke Ronchi was once again bulldozing Sultan bowlers and was looking all set to score big runs, but after hammering 32 of just 16 deliveries, studded with 6 boundaries and 1 six, he was removed by pacer Muhammad Ilyas caught by Malik. As Ronchi was back in the pavilion, United kept on losing wickets at regular intervals.
Asif Ali was batting superbly and had hit three massive sixes in his short stay at the crease, as once again after scoring 22 in just 12 deliveries with the help of 3 sixes. He simply gifted his wicket to Christian, which badly hampered United chances of posting decent target on the board.
At one stage United at lost two wickets on two connective deliveries as Asif and RUmman were both sent to pavilion by Daniel Christian at the total of 104, but Faheem Ashraf batted well and ensured United at least post 121 as they were bundled out in only 17.4 overs. Faheem remained unbeaten at 16, Daniel Christian was the pick of Sultan bowlers with 3 for 19, while left arm spinner Nauman captured 2 for 14, M Ilyas 2 for 21 and Shahid Afridi 2 for 37.
With the much-needed victory, Multan came out from rock-bottom to fourth place in the medal table, while Karachi King is at sixth, Lahore Qalandars at fifth and Quetta Gladiators are sitting at the top of points table followed by Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United.
Scorecard
ISLAMABAD UNITED:
L Ronchi c Shoaib b M Ilyas 32
CS Delport c Vince b M Ilyas 4
Sahibzada Farhan st Siddiq b Nauman Ali 4
SR Patel c Vince b Shahid Afridi 20
Hussain Talat b Shahid Afridi 8
WD Parnell c & b Mohammad Irfan 5
Asif Ali c Umar Siddiq b Christian 22
Shadab Khan b Nauman Ali 4
Faheem Ashraf not out 16
Rumman Raees lbw b Christian 0
M Musa c Shahid Afridi b Christian 2
EXTRAS: (lb 2, w 2) 4
TOTAL: (all out, 17.4 overs) 121
FOW: 1-5, 2-34, 3-42, 4-62, 5-75, 6-76, 7-96, 8-104, 9-104, 10-121.
BOWLING: Mohammad Ilyas 3-0-21-2, Mohammad Irfan 4-0-17-1, Nauman Ali 2-0-14-2, Junaid Khan 3-0-11-0, Shahid Afridi 4-0-37-2, DT Christian 1.4-0-19-3.
MULTAN SULTANS:
Umar Siddiq c M Musa b Rumman 46
JM Vince c Parnell b Patel 28
J Charles lbw b Shadab Khan 4
Shoaib Malik not out 23
LJ Evans b Muhammad Musa 1
DT Christian not out 16
EXTRAS: (lb 1, nb 1, w 2) 4
TOTAL: (4 wkts, 18.1 overs) 122
FOW: 1-54, 2-59, 3-99, 4-101.
BOWLING: Faheem Ashraf 3.1-0-19-0, Muhammad Musa 4-0-43-1, Rumman Raees 3-0-19-1, SR Patel 4-0-24-1, Shadab Khan 4-0-16-1.
TOSS: Multan Sultans
UMPIRES: Richard Illingworth, Ahsan Raza
TV UMPIRES: Asif Yaqoob
MATCH REFEREE: Roshan Mahanama
Today’s Fixtures
Peshawar Zalmi v Multan Sultans
Starts at 4:30 PM
Karachi Kings v Lahore Qalandars
Starts at 9:00 PM
Top Run Scorer
Umar Akmal
Quetta Gladiators
201
runs
6
Innings
50.25
Average
Top wicket taker
Hasan Ali
Peshawar Zalmi
15
wickets
5
Innings
7.06
Average
Sixes
171
Fours
393
Wickets
196
Runs
4998