MULTAN: The Multan Sultans juggernaut continues. It’s gone from bad to worse for two-time defending champions Lahore Qalandars.

Led by their pugnacious captain Mohammad Riz­wan, the Sultans kept their perfect start to the HBL Pakistan Super League season intact when they downed the Qalandars by five wickets at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday night for their third straight victory.

Shaheen Shah Afridi’s Qalandars, who have now lost all three of their opening fixtures, had posted 166-5 before reducing the Sultans to 53-3.

But Rizwan steadied the chase with a classy 82 before Iftikhar Ahmed finished the job with some lusty blows to leave the Qalandars still looking for their first points.

With Sultans needing 21 to win with two overs to play, Iftikhar (34 not out off 11 balls) finished the job with six balls to spare, smashing 4, 4, 6, 6, 4 off the last five balls of the 19th over bowled by Zaman Khan in a sensational show of power-hitting.

After Shaheen had elected to bat, the Sultans rocked the Qalandars early on when the impressive Moh­ammad Ali had Sahi­bzada Farhan caught by a stretching Iftikhar Ahmed at first slip. That, though, was the only joy they were to get during the powerplay as the incoming Rassie van der Dussen (54) and Fakhar Zaman (41) hit back.

After Van der Dussen’s inside edge flew to the ropes for the Qalandars’ first boundary on the first ball of the third over, the South African got a second in more convincing fashion two balls later; crashing Willey through the offside.

Fakhar then heaved David Willey for six over long-off to end that over before Van der Dussen began the next with another, swiveling and hooking Ali for another maximum. As Ali tried to cramp the room for Fakhar, the southpaw pulled him away for his first four.

The Qalandars were on the charge; Fakhar welcoming Shahnawaz Dahani with a cracking four and a massive six and they were 49-1 at the end of the first six overs.

The introduction of spin, notwithstanding Abbas Afridi’s superb sixth over, quelled the flow of boundaries and a drought that lasted 30 balls ended when Van der Dussen, lucky to have survived a stumping when Rizwan spilled the ball, drove Iftikhar to the mid-wicket fence as the Qalandars reached 74-1 midway through their innings.

Two balls into the 11th over, Van de Dussen lifted leg-spinner Usama Mir for a six over long-on and then brought up his half-century with his fourth boundary.

But just as the Qalandars were looking to raise the tempo, Usama ended the 94-run stand when Rizwan snapped up a thick outside edge to see off Van der Dussen.

The onus fell on Fakhar, dropped by Rizwan earlier on, to take Qalandars to a sizeable total but he succumbed trying to go big against Asif and only getting a top edge that was pocketed by Rizwan.

More thrills and spills — Khushdil Shah dropped two catches in an over — followed with late cameos by Sikandar Raza (23), Jahandad Khan (16) and Carlos Brathwaite (15 not out) taking the Qalandars to 166-5.

Sultans made a tentative start to their chase and after Shaheen bowled a maiden first over, Zaman made the breakthrough when his inswinging Yorker hit Dawid Malan on the toe, The Englishman was initially given not out only for the DRS to reverse that decision.

Rizwan survived an lbw on umpire’s call and then broke free, after Shaheen had wasted both reviews available to his side.

But he kept losing partners with Reeza Hendricks (nine) finding Fakhar at extra cover off Shaheen after dispatching the Qalandars captain for consecutive fours.

Rizwan was dealing in boundaries and after Yasir Khan (eight) was stumped off freshly-inducted South African spinner George Linde, he got lucky when Shaheen misjudged a catch off Raza as the Sultans reached 72-3 after 10 overs.

Rizwan reached his half-century with his seventh four after a Fakhar misfield on the fence in the 12th over and then took on Linde in the next over, dragging him for a six off the first ball before slicing Haris Rauf away for another to start the 14th.

With Willey providing solid support at the other end, the Sultans needed 50 off the last five overs to win. Haris bowled a tight 16th over, giving away just four, and the run-rate pressure saw Rizwan fall in the next over, holing out to Linde at deep mid-wicket off Zaman.

Iftikhar threatened, pulling Zaman for a four on the first delivery he faced and then got another boundary with a pick-up shot to start the 18th over.

Willey smashed Shaheen down the ground for a massive six but fell lbw two deliveries later after a searing yorker by the Qalandars skipper had him lbw. The Qalandars sensed an opportunity but Iftikhar had other ideas.

Scoreboards

Peshawar Zalmi v Karachi Kings

PESHAWAR ZALMI:

Batters & modes of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR

Saim Ayub b Malik 0 1 0 0 0.00

Babar Azam c&b Hamza 72 51 7 1 141.17

Mohammad Haris c Pollard b Hamza 6 7 1 0 85.71

Tom Kohler-Cadmore b Hasan 2 3 0 0 66.66

Rovman Powell c Hamza b Nawaz 39 25 3 2 156.00

Asif Ali c Pollard b Sams 23 16 1 1 143.75

Aamer Jamal c Shan b Hamza 1 4 0 0 25.00

Luke Wood c Irfan b Hasan 8 6 0 1 133.33

Mohammad Zeeshan c Shan b Sams 0 1 0 0 0.00

Salman Irshad not out 0 3 0 0 0.00

Waqar Salamkheil lbw b Hasan 0 2 0 0 0.00

EXTRAS (W-3) 3

TOTAL (all out, 19.5 overs) 154

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0 (Saim), 2-26 (Haris), 3-40 (Kohler-Cadmore), 4-108 (Powell), 5-136 (Asif), 6-140 (Aamer), 7-147 (Babar), 8-148 (Zeeshan), 9-154 (Wood)

BOWLING: Malik 1-0-3-1 (1w), Hamza 4-0-28-3, Nawaz 3-0-29-1, Sams 4-0-28-2 (1w), Hasan 3.5-0-30-3, Shamsi 4-0-36-0 (1w)

KARACHI KINGS:

Batters & modes of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR

Shan Masood c Powell b Wood 12 10 2 0 120.00

Mohammad Akhlaq c Haris b Wood 24 13 3 2 184.61

James Vince not out 38 30 3 1 126.66

Shoaib Malik st Haris b Waqar 29 29 1 1 100.00

Kieron Pollard not out 49 21 4 4 233.33

EXTRAS (NB-2, W-3) 5

TOTAL (for three wickets, 16.5 overs) 157

DID NOT BAT: Mohammad Nawaz, Irfan Khan, Daniel Sams, Hasan Ali, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mir Hamza

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-20 (Shan), 2-40 (Akhlaq), 3-91 (Malik)

BOWLING: Wood 3.5-1-20-2, Zeeshan 4-0-48-0 (2w, 2nb), Salman 3-0-22-0, Aamer 2-0-13-0 (1w), Waqar 4-0-54-1

RESULT: Karachi Kings won by seven wickets.

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Mir Hamza

Multan Sultans v Lahore Qalandars

LAHORE QALANDARS:

Batters & modes of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR

Sahibzada Farhan c Iftikhar b Ali 2 8 0 0 25.00

Fakhar Zaman c Rizwan b Abbas 41 36 2 2 113.88

Rassie van der Dussen c Rizwan b Usama 54 37 4 2 145.94

Sikandar Raza c Usama b Ali 23 16 4 0 143.75

Jahandad Khan run out 16 9 0 1 177.77

Abdullah Shafique not out 6 7 0 0 85.71

Carlos Brathwaite not out 15 8 1 1 187.50

EXTRAS (LB-2, NB-1, W-6) 9

TOTAL (for five wickets, 20 overs) 166

DID NOT BAT: George Linde, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-3 (Farhan), 2-97 (van der Dussen), 3-114 (Fakhar), 4-128 (Raza), 5-144 (Jahandad)

BOWLING: Willey 3-0-27-0 (1w), Ali 4-0-28-2 (4w), Dahani 2-0-24-0 (1w, 1nb), Abbas 4-0-34-1, Usama 4-0-25-1, Iftikhar 3-0-26-0

MULTAN SULTANS:

Batters & modes of dismissals R B 4s 6s SR

Mohammad Rizwan c Linde b Zaman 82 59 9 3 138.98

Dawid Malan lbw b Zaman 0 1 0 0 0.00

Reeza Hendricks c Fakhar b Shaheen 9 7 2 0 128.57

Yasir Khan st Farhan b Linde 8 13 1 0 61.53

David Willey lbw b Shaheen 25 23 1 1 108.69

Iftikhar Ahmed not out 34 11 5 2 309.09

Khushdil Shah not out 0 0 0 0 0.00

EXTRAS (B-1, W-11) 12

TOTAL (for five wickets, 19 overs) 170

DID NOT BAT: Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-1 (Malan), 2-15 (Hendricks), 3-53 (Yasir), 4-128 (Rizwan), 5-146 (Willey)

BOWLING: Shaheen 4-1-25-2, Zaman 4-0-52-2 (3w), Haris 3-0-25-0 (2w), Jahandad 1-0-10-0, Linde 4-0-26-1 (2w), Brathwaite 1-0-7-0 (2w),Raza 2-0-24-0 (1w)

RESULT: Multan Sultans won by five wickets.

PLAYER-OF-THE-MATCH: Mohammad Rizwan

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2024