ISLAMABAD: Former two-time Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions Islamabad United lost their clash with Multan Sultans on Sunday but qualified for the playoff stage of the tournament.
Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators each had eight points from four victories. However, Islamabad qualified for the PSL on the basis of their run rate, which was higher than the Gladiators.
In what was a low-scoring PSL match between Multan and Islamabad, the former chased the latter’s 106-run target in the 17th over. Multan’s dependable skipper Mohammad Rizwan scored a half-century to guide his team to the win.
However, in their quest to chase Islamabad’s total, Multan were dealt with early setbacks when they lost three wickets for only 18 runs. Islamabad’s Liam Dawson dismissed Shan Masood (4), Amir Azmat (4) and Khushdil Shah (2) to give his team much-needed hope.
Rizwan and David Willey then formed a partnership to lead Multan Sultans to a six-wicket victory against Islamabad United. Rizwan remained unbeaten on 51 off 42 balls while Willey scored 28 from 32 balls.
Earlier, Multan Sultans had bowled well to restrict Islamabad to 105/7 after 20 overs. Asif Afridi and Imran Tahir took two wickets each to keep Islamabad batters at bay Willey, Tim David and Shahnawaz Dahani each took one wicket.
