HBL PSL 5: Sultans down Zalmi after low-scoring affair

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Multan Sultans defeated Peshawar Zalmi in a low-scoring affair by six wickets to register their second win of the ongoing Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL).  

While chasing a target of 124 runs, Sultans reached home in 15^th over of the innings courtesy a sensible unbeaten knock, 49 runs off 42 balls, by South African batsman Rilee Rossouw. He was ably supported by Pakistan cricketer Khushdil Shah, who remained not out on 43 runs off 29 balls.

 The Sultans had lost four wickets with just 47 runs on the board but Rossouw and Shah ensured that there were no further jitters as their side cruised to victory.

For Zalmi, pacer Wahab Riaz claimed two wickets while fellow fast-bowlers Rahat Ali and Hasan Ali claimed one wicket each.

Earlier, Peshawar Zalmi were dismissed for only 123 in 18.3 overs after a superb bowling display by the home side.

Despite being dropped on the very first ball of the innings, Tom Banton failed to make the most of the reprieve as pacer Mohammad Irfan got the better of him on the fifth ball of the same over, courtesy a brilliant catch by veteran all-rounder Shahid Afridi. He could only score four runs.

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Fellow opener Kamran Akmal could not repeat his heroics from the previous game, where he scored a century, and fell after scoring 15 runs off nine balls. Left-arm pacer Sohail Tanvir was the successful bowler on this occasion.

Young pacer Mohammad Ilyas took the wickets of middle-order batsman Shoaib Malik (2) and Liam Livingstone (o) to further dent Zalmi.

Rookie batsman Haider Ali was the only Zalmi batsman who impressed in the middle, scoring a brisk 47 off just 27 balls. He was eventually dismissed, trying to clear the boundary, by Tanvir.

Peshawar’s lower-order also seemed out of sorts, during their turn with the bat, and it was only Liam Dawson’s 22 runs off 23 balls which added some respectability to the team’s total.

For Sultans, Tanvir was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 4/13 in 3.3 overs. His fellow pacers Irfan and Ilyas claimed two wickets each, while leg-spinners Afridi and Imran Tahir bagged one wicket each.

For his brilliant bowling performance, Sohail Tanvir was declared player of the match.