The Pakistan Super League (PSL) match played between Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators was a thriller for any fan of the sport. The heroics of Usman Khan with the bat, combined with Abbas Afridi's skills with the ball, powered the Sultans to victory but the Gladiators, despite their failings in the bowling department, almost chased down a record-breaking high total of 262 runs but fell nine short.
In fact, the 515 aggregate runs scored in this match, is the highest ever in the history of this tournament. Comparing it to the Indian Premier League (IPL), the highest aggregate score in 469, during a game between the Chennai Super Kings (246/5) and the Rajasthan Royals (223/5).
The match started slow, but Multan opener Usman, who was playing just his second match of the tournament, upped the gear and how. He smashed the record for the fastest century scored in the PSL with his 36-ball ton, breaking a record set by his teammate Rilee Rossouw a day before on March 10. Usman got to the landmark with 36 balls courtesy of some massive hitting that took the Gladiator bowlers to the cleaners.
His main target was Afghanistan spinner Qais Ahmad. He conceded 54 runs in his first two overs, and all of them were scored by Usman. 52 of these were scored in boundaries, which was exactly 6 sixes and 4 fours in 12 balls. He eventually lost his wicket to the bowling of Nawaz but by then the damage was done.
Rizwan extended his reign at the top of the highest run-getters list with an innings of 55 runs, while Tim David (43*) and Kieron Pollard (23) also contributed to the massive score.
In response, the Gladiators started brightly with the wicket of Jason Roy (6), but Martin Guptill smashed 37 off 14 to keep the scoreboard ticking. After Guptill was dismissed by Ihsanullah, Omair Yousuf kept the pressure on the Sultan batters. That is when Abbas Afdiri entered the fray.
With a target that the Gladiators were on their way to chasing down at risk, Afridi sent back the dangerous Mohammad Hafeez
for a single run. He then got Iftikhar Ahmed, who smashed a 31-ball 53, after which Ihsanullah stuck again to get the all-important wicket of Omair Yousuf, who was riding high on 67 off 36 balls.
Afridi effectively snatched the game single-handedly from the Gladiators, when he bagged the first hat-trick of the season to dismantle the opponent's middle order.
Gladiators captain Mohammad Nawaz (16) was the first victim in the fourth ball of the 17th over. He was followed by Umaid Asif for a Golden Duck, and then Umar Akmal (28) on the first ball of his final over, i.e the 19th over. This ended any chances for a win, despite a late fight from Qais Ahmad and Naveen-ul-Haq, who scored 17 runs from seven balls each as the Gladiators reached a respectable total of 253 runs.
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Pakistan's Usman Khan smashes fastest PSL century in 36 balls, breaks Rilee Rossouw's record within 24 hours
Afghan spinner Qais Ahmad suffers beating of a lifetime from PSL's fastest centurion, breaks Shahid Afridi's unwanted record
