Multan Sultans thrash Peshawar Zalmi to storm into fourth consecutive PSL final

Multan Sultans’ Yasir Khan celebrates after scoring fifity during the Pakistan Super League T20 cricket qualifier match between Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans, in Karachi on March 14, 2024. (AP)
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Updated 15 March 2024
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Multan Sultans thrash Peshawar Zalmi to storm into fourth consecutive PSL final

  • Multan Sultans beat Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets in Karachi to qualify for final
  • Peshawar Zalmi will face the winner of Friday’s Eliminator 1 for a place in the final

ISLAMABAD: Multan Sultans brushed aside Peshawar Zalmi, beating the “Yellow Storm” by seven wickets at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Thursday to reach the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) tournament for a fourth consecutive time.
Batting second, the Sultans were handed a modest 147-run target by Zalmi, who finished at 146/7 from their 20 overs. Skipper Muhammad Rizwan could only score 15 runs from 21 balls before he was dismissed by Aamer Jamal.
Opener Yasir Khan scored 54 runs from 37 balls while Usman Khan remained unbeaten on 36. A 22-run blitz from Iftikhar Ahmed sealed the win for the Sultans.
“Clinical. Commanding. Teamwork puts us in the driving seat once again,” the Sultans wrote on social media platform X after clinching the convincing victory.
Batting first, Zalmi were unable to stop the flurry of wickets that kept falling throughout the innings. Skipper Babar Azam top-scored with 46 runs from 42 balls before a blistering yorker from Chris Jordan sent him back to the pavilion.
Opener Saim Ayub failed to impress, scoring only one run from four balls before he was dismissed by David Willey. Mohammad Haris scored 22 runs from 14 balls while Tom Kohler-Cadmore gave some support to the Yellow Storm in the middle by scoring a run-a-ball 24.
Jordan returned figures of 2/28 while Usama Mir finished with 2/16 to keep the Zalmi batters restricted to 146/7. Abbas Afridi, Willey and Mohammad Ali all took a single wicket each for the Sultans.
Zalmi will face the winner of Friday’s match between Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators on Saturday, in Eliminator 2.
The winner of Eliminator 2 will go on to meet the Sultans in the final on Mar. 18.


Pakistan president to visit Bahrain on Jan.13-16 to hold trade, defense talks

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Pakistan president to visit Bahrain on Jan.13-16 to hold trade, defense talks

  • Asif Ali Zardari will meet King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad
  • Both nations have been seeking to deepen ties following a bilateral investment summit in May 2025

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari will visit Bahrain on Jan. 13-16 where he would meet King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa and Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, the Pakistani foreign office said on Monday, adding the talks would encompass trade and defense cooperation.

Pakistan and Bahrain have maintained close diplomatic, trade, investment and defense relations and have lately been focusing on strengthening their cooperation in key economic sectors.

The Pakistan president’s visit will be focused on bilateral, regional and international issues of mutual interest for both nations, according to the foreign office in Islamabad.

“The visit seeks to reinforce Pakistan’s longstanding cooperation with the brotherly Gulf nation while expanding opportunities for collaboration in trade and economic partnership, defense and security, and people-to-people ties,” the Pakistani foreign office said.

The development comes amid increasing economic engagement between the two countries, following the Pakistan-Bahrain Investment Summit in May last year. Both sides signed contracts worth $13 million at the summit.

Bahrain is also home to a significant Pakistani expatriate community, a major source of remittances to the South Asian country and often highlighted by officials as a key pillar of bilateral relations.