Multan Sultans reach second successive HBL PSL final:

Shahnawaz Dahani’s three-fer, after Rilee Rossouw (65*) and captain Mohammad Rizwan (53*) fifties, scripted a comfortable 28-run win over Lahore Qalandars in the Qualifier as defending champs Multan Sultans burst into the PSL 2022 final on Wednesday.

Rossouw and Rizwan sewed an unbeaten 113-run partnership, helping Multan Sultans overcome a tepid begin to post a par score of 163/2 in 20 overs. But sharp bowling in both the powerplay and at death tied Qalandars regardless of Fakhar Zaman’s fighting knock of 63.

Rizwan, in spite of the fifty against his name, struggled for timing for a large portion of his stay. In the wake of losing Shan Masood from the get-go in the second over Multan Sultans struggled to get a move on. However, Aamer Azmat dialed down some pressure off his captain with a fluent knock of 33. The no. 3 player kept going just 22 deliveries yet struck five useful boundaries to keep the scoreboard ticking over as Multan Sultans dealt with a modest 45/1 from their powerplay.

Rossouw pulled things back for his side, breaking the four-over boundary less streak with a fortunate edge that securely hustled away to third man fence however Mohammad Hafeez four-over spell, with figures of 1 for 16, held Multan Sultans under tight restraints all through.

Rizwan couldn’t in any case find his notch however Rossouw settled quickly and proceeded to outscore his captain to a 34-ball fifty with a pull and deposited the next one into the cow corner stands to make it a 14-run over. Rizwan, offered a life to on 43, went to bring his 50 in the penultimate over as Multan Sultans caught up in the last-three to post a competitive 163/2.

That, however, demonstrated sufficient as none of the Lahore Qalandars batters – except for Zaman – set up a battle. Credit where it’s due to Multan Sultans new-ball bowlers Asif Afridi and Rumman Raees who combined who gave just 29 runs in the five powerplay overs between them, for the breakthrough wicket of Abdullah Shafique.

From 38/1 after powerplay, Lahore Qalandars quickly slipped to 48/3 that incorporated a pointless run out of Kamran Ghulam (20) and the stumping of experienced Hafeez as the dot ball pressure incurred significant damage.

However, at the most critical moment Zaman moved forward. He capitalized on the early respite and compensated for Ghulam’s run-out by reigniting Lahore Qalandars expectations in a fierce counterattack that began with a full go-around of maximums against Imran Tahir in the twelfth over. The fourth of his beast hits – slog sweep over deep midwicket – came right after his 37-ball fifty. But, similarly as he brought the equation down to a reasonable 65 off the last 42, a dramatic breakdown ensued.

Shahnawaz Dahani, who was kept down until the fourteenth over, took only three balls to strike and sent Harry Brook and Phillip Salt packing in succeeding overs. In the meanwhile, David Willey gave the match-defining strike when he trapped Fakhar Zaman lbw on 63. They both each got a wicket more in their respective third overs to gag Qalandars at death. The home side at last missed the mark, sending defending champs straight into the season finale.

Brief Scores:

Multan Sultans 163/2 in overs (Rilee Rossouw 65*, Mohammad Rizwan 53*; Mohammad Hafeez 1-16) beat Lahore Qalandars 135/9 in 20 (Fakhar Zaman 63; Shahnawaz Dahani 3-19, David Willey 2-23) by 28 runs.