ISLAMABAD: A quickfire half-century by Multan Sultans skipper Muhammad Rizwan helped his side secure a five-wicket win over defending champions Lahore Qalandars on Wednesday night, as the two sides locked horns in the seventh match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 clash in Multan. 
“Captain’s knock once again by Muhammad Rizwan,” the Sultans wrote on social media platform X. “3/3 wins in the bag.”

The Qalandars batted first, scoring 166-5 at the end of their 20 overs. A half-century by Rassie van der Dussen (54 off 37 balls) and a quick 41 runs from 36 balls by left-handed batter Fakhar Zaman gave the defending champions some support. 
However, Sultans bowler Mohammad Ali impressed yet again, returning figures of 2/28 while Abbas Afridi and spinner Usama Mir picked up a wicket each. The Qalandars could only manage 166-5 at the end of their 20 overs. 
The Sultans suffered early setbacks when they came out to bat, losing opening batter Dawid Malan for 0 and Reeza Hendricks for 9 while Rizwan stood his ground to score a half-century. Yasir Khan and David Willey departed after scoring 8 and 25 runs, respectively, before a valiant knock from Iftikhar Ahmed (34 runs from 11 balls) sealed the Qalandars’ fate.
Rizwan’s 82 runs from 59 balls featured three sixes and nine fours. He was awarded the Player of the Match award after the Sultans finished successfully at 170-5 at the end of 19 overs. 
Qalandars’ pacers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Zaman Khan grabbed the lion’s share of the wickets, returning figures of 2/25 and 2/52 respectively. 
With three consecutive wins in this year’s PSL, the Sultans sit pretty at the top of the table while the Qalandars are at the bottom after suffering three defeats.