ABU DHABI: Multan Sultans won their maiden Pakistan Super League title by thumping 2017 champion Peshawar Zalmi by 47 runs in the final on Thursday.
Sohaib Maqsood celebrated his Pakistan recall at 34 after five years with an unbeaten 65, and South African Rilee Rossouw reserved his best for the final by smashing 50 off 21 balls in Multan’s imposing total of 206-4.
Peshawar, which opted to chase after winning the toss, got brief momentum from veteran Shoaib Malik’s 47 off 28 balls but was restricted to 159-9.
Legspinner Imran Tahir claimed his three wickets in his last over while Zimbabwe fast bowler Blessing Muzarabbani picked up the important wicket of power-hitter Hazratullah Zazai early to take the sting out of Peshawar’s run chase.
Multan came back strongly into the tournament after the league was moved to Abu Dhabi this month, winning four of its last five league games. It also beat favorites Islamabad United in the qualifier.
Multan struggled in Karachi with a solitary win from five games in February until the league was suspended when several players and support staff tested positive for the coronavirus.
Peshawar was third time unlucky, falling in the final for a third time alongside 2018 and 2019.
Maqsood played a key role in Multan’s turnaround in the tournament and, yet again, showed off his aggressive batting to finish the league with 428 runs.
Peshawar captain Wahab Riaz seemed to have the final controlled by the halfway mark but Hazratullah Zazai dropped Maqsood on 6 at extra cover in the 11th over which proved costly.
Maqsood and Rossouw combined in a 98-run partnership off only 44 balls as Riaz and Amad Butt finished with identical expensive figures of 0-52. Both batsmen hit 11 fours and six sixes between them as Multan added 124 runs in the last nine overs and took the game away from Peshawar.
Fast bowler Sameen Gul, who played after Umaid Asif was suspended on Thursday for breaching the bio-secure bubble, claimed 2-26 as the rest of the bowlers struggled to contain the free-flowing batting of Maqsood and Rossouw.
Multan beats Peshawar in Pakistan Super League final in Abu Dhabi
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Multan beats Peshawar in Pakistan Super League final in Abu Dhabi
- Multan Sultans won their maiden PSL title by thumping 2017 champion Peshawar Zalmi by 47 runs
- Multan came back strongly into the tournament after the league was moved to Abu Dhabi this month
‘Fully stand with Bangladesh’: Pakistan PM backs decision to boycott India match
- Pakistan’s government have not allowed the national cricket team to play its World Cup match against India on Feb. 15
- Pakistan has accused India of influencing ICC decisions, criticized global cricket body for replacing Bangladesh in World Cup
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Wednesday backed his government’s decision to bar the national men’s cricket team from playing against India in the upcoming T20 World Cup tournament, reaffirming support for Bangladesh.
Pakistan’s government announced on social media platform X last week that it has allowed its national team to travel to Sri Lanka for the World Cup. However, it said the Green Shirts will not take the field against India on their scheduled match on Feb. 15.
Pakistan’s participation in the tournament was thrown into doubt after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi criticized the International Cricket Council (ICC) for replacing Bangladesh with Scotland. The decision was taken after Bangladesh said it would not let its team travel to India out of security concerns.
During a meeting of the federal cabinet, Sharif highlighted that Pakistan has said that politics should be kept away from sports.
“We have taken this stand after careful consideration and in this regard, we should stand fully with Bangladesh,” Sharif said in televised remarks.
“And I believe this is a very reasonable decision.”
Pakistan has blamed India for influencing the ICC’s decisions. The global cricket governing body is currently led by Jay Shah, the head of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. Shah is the son of Indian Home Minister Amit Shah.
Pakistan’s boycott announcement has triggered media frenzy worldwide, with several Indian cricket experts and analysts criticizing Islamabad for the decision. An India-Pakistan cricket contest is by far the most lucrative and eagerly watched match of any ICC tournament.
The ICC has ensured that the two rivals and Asian cricket giants are always in the same group of any ICC event since 2012 to capitalize on the high-stakes game.
The two teams have played each other at neutral venues over the past several years, as bilateral cricket remains suspended between them since 2013 due to political tensions.
Those tensions have persisted since the two nuclear-armed nations engaged in the worst fighting between them since 1999 in May 2025, after India blamed Pakistan for an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed tourists.
Pakistan denied India’s allegations that it was involved in the attack, calling for a credible probe into the incident.
