ISLAMABAD: Multan Sultans defeated Quetta Gladiators by 13 runs at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Sunday, finishing their home leg of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9th edition on a high.
Quetta Gladiators won the toss and elected to field first. Usman Khan, playing his first game of PSL-9, started the innings with three boundaries in the first over.
After posting 180-4 in the first innings, the Mohammad Rizwan-led side restricted Quetta Gladiators to 167-9, courtesy of three-wicket hauls by Mohammad Ali and David Willey.
“Multan win once again at the Sultans Fort,” read a post on PSL’s official account on X. “Gladiators’ unbeaten run ends with Sultans emerging triumphant by 13 runs.”
Reeza Hendricks top-scored with 72 runs from 47 deliveries, followed by Rizwan’s 52 off 42 balls. Tayyab Tahir hit 35 not out from 22 deliveries.
Mohammad Amir took two wickets by conceding 46 runs, while Akeal Hosein and Abrar Ahmed dismissed once each.
In their 181-run chase for victory, Quetta could only reach 167 in 20 overs, with Khawaja Nafay hitting the highest 36 from 31 balls.
Mohammad Ali and David Willey took three wickets each, while Aftab Ibrahim returned 2/26 figures.
This was Multan Sultans’ fourth win from their five matches in the home city of Multan. It also ended Gladiators unbeaten run in the four matches played this season.
Multan Sultans end PSL home leg with comfortable win over Quetta Gladiators
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Multan Sultans end PSL home leg with comfortable win over Quetta Gladiators
- After posting 180-4 in first innings, the Mohammad Rizwan-led side restricted Quetta Gladiators to 167-9
- Reeza Hendricks’ 72 and three-wicket hauls by Mohammad Ali, David Willey guided Multan to their fourth win
Pakistan fines beverage maker Rs150 million for imitating PepsiCo. product packaging
- The case dates back to 2018, when PepsiCo. filed a complaint that Mezan Beverages’ ‘Storm’ energy drink was designed to imitate its ‘Sting’
- Such rulings are a rarity in Pakistan, where prolonged litigation, frequent stay orders and jurisdictional challenges often delay enforcement
KARACHI: The Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) has imposed a penalty of Rs150 million ($535,283) on Mezan Beverages (Private) Limited for “deceptive marketing” in a case brought against it by PepsiCo, the CCP said on Friday.
The case dates back to 2018, when the American multinational food and beverage corporation filed a complaint alleging that Mezan Beverages’ ‘Storm’ energy drink was designed to imitate its ‘Sting’ and benefit from PepsiCo’s goodwill.
Instead of responding on merits, Mezan Beverages repeatedly challenged the CCP’s jurisdiction and initiated prolonged litigation, delaying the inquiry for several years by obtaining stay orders from the Lahore High Court in 2018 and 2021, according to the CCP.
In June 2024, the court dismissed Mezan Beverages’ petition, upheld the CCP’s authority, and ruled that early challenges to show-cause notices were not maintainable. The court observed that the Pakistani beverage maker had used litigation to delay regulatory proceedings.
“The company (Mezan Beverages) was found to have imitated the packaging and trade dress of PepsiCo’s Sting energy drink, thereby engaging in deceptive marketing practices in violation of Section 10 of the Competition Act, 2010,” the CCP said in a statement.
“Such conduct amounted to parasitic copying and constituted deceptive marketing prohibited under Pakistan’s competition law.”
Such rulings remain uncommon in Pakistan, where prolonged litigation, frequent stay orders and jurisdictional challenges often delay or dilute enforcement of competition and consumer protection laws. Regulatory actions are frequently stalled for years in courts, allowing companies accused of unfair practices to continue operating while cases remain unresolved.
In its verdict, the CCP said Mezan Beverages’ energy drink adopted a red-dominant color scheme, identical to Sting; bold, slanted white lettering with aggressive visual motifs; near-identical bottle shape and presentation; and branding elements likely to mislead an ordinary consumer with imperfect recollection.
It emphasized that deception is assessed based on the overall commercial impression, not minute differences examined side by side.
“Even though Mezan Beverages held a registered trademark for ‘Storm’... copycat branding and misleading packaging will not be tolerated, regardless of the size or local status of the company,” the commission added.
