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Mohammad Rizwan-led Multan Sultans suffered a monumental collapse as they lost eight wickets for 33 runs and lost to Karachi Kings by a massive margin of 66 runs at National Stadium, Karchi on February 26. Karachi Kings spinners took eight wickets as they forced table-toppers Sultans into submission to keep their hopes of making it to playoffs alive.
Sultans' run chase got off to a decent start. Shan Masood got dismissed by Akif Javed in the fifth over but not before he scored 25 runs from 16 deliveries. At the end of powerplay overs, Sultans had 49 runs on the board. In the seventh over, skipper Imad Wasim introduced Shoaib Malik into the attack. Malik got the big wicket of Rilee Rossouw (7) who got bowled by a ripper.
Malik and Tabraiz Shamsi managed to control the flow of runs. In the 10th over, Shamsi lured Miller into a big shot but he found Malik at long-off. At the halfway stage, Sultans were 70/3 in run chase of 168. Malik struck again to dismiss skipper Rizwan. The wicketkeeper-batter played down the wrong line and the edge carried to Tayyab Tahir.
After that Sultans suffered a monumental collapse. Anwar Ali (12) and Usama Mir (10) tried to keep up with the required run rate but lost their wickets before making an impact. Skipper Wasim joined the party too and got the wickets of Carlos Brathwaite (1) and Akeal Hosein (2). Sultans got all out for 101 in 16.3 overs. Malik and Shamsi took three wickets each as they forced the collapse.
Earlier, Rizwan won the toss and opted to field first. In-form James Vince contributed with a brilliant cameo of 12-ball 27 which included three fours and two sixes. Vince was dismissed by Anwar Ali. Matthew Wade struggled to get boundaries but had support from Tayyab Tahir from the other end. The two shared a 109-run partnership for the second wicket. Tahir scored 65 runs from 46 deliveries including eight fours and one six. In the penultimate over, Wade missed out on a half-century. The wicketkeeper-batter scored 46 runs from 47 deliveries. Towards the end, Malik's 9-ball 10 and Wasim's 6-ball 14 helped Kings post 167/3.
“It was a long wait but we always have to look at the best combination for the team. It was a nice surface but you still have to put the ball in the right areas. The other spinners Malik and Imad bowled well too which made my job easier,” left-arm chinaman Shamsi said after winning ‘Player of the Match’ award.
