Multan Sultans trounce Lahore Qalandars to bag third win at PSL

Multan Sultans on Wednesday trounced Lahore Qalandars to bag their third straight win at the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9 while the Shaheen Shah-Afridi-led side faced their third defeat at the event.

Iftikhar Ahmed's fireworks following Mohammad Rizwan's responsible 82 runs off 59 balls rallied Multan Sultans to victory over Qalandars in the seventh match the PSL season 9 at the Multan Cricket Stadium. 

Iftikhar smacked 24 runs in the 19th over to finish the chase of 167 in 19 overs. The 33-year-old remained not out at 34 off 11 balls.

The chase led by Mohammad Rizwan showcased a mix of brilliance and challenges. Rizwan played an anchoring innings, scoring 82 runs off 59 balls.

The team faced an early setback when Dawid Malan was declared lbw off Zaman Khan's delivery without contributing any runs to the scoreboard. Reeza Hendricks followed suit, contributing just 9 runs before being caught by Fakhar Zaman off Shaheen Afridi's bowling.

Yasir Khan, after scoring 8 runs, was stumped by wicketkeeper Sahibzada Farhan off the bowling of George Linde.

Rizwan paired with Willey to post a 75-run stand after three wickets fell. After Rizwan's dismissal, Iftikhar Ahmed took the charge with Willey.

Willey added 25 runs before being declared lbw by Shaheen in the 18th over.

Iftikhar Ahmed played a remarkable knock, which included five boundaries and two sixes helping his side to third win in the competition.

Mohammad Rizwan's Multan now have three wins in the competition while Lahore have now lost three.

Earlier, Lahore posted an imposing total on the scoreboard, despite a dismal start to their innings.

The defending champions lost their in-form opener, Sahibzada Farhan (2), in the second over, bowled by Mohammad Ali, with just three runs on the scoreboard.

Following the early setback, van der Dussen joined Fakhar Zaman in the middle, and the duo batted sensibly to initiate a recovery.

They added 94 runs for the second wicket in just 11 overs until van der Dussen fell victim to Usama Mir, shortly after reaching his half-century.

He remained the top-scorer for the Qalandars with a 37-ball 54, hitting four boundaries and two sixes.

Fakhar then formed a brief partnership with Jahandad Khan before finally perishing in the 16th over.

He scored 41 off 36 deliveries with the help of two boundaries and two sixes.

Later, all-rounders Sikandar Raza and Jahandad added valuable runs at the backend with brief cameos.

Raza scored 23 off 16 deliveries with the help of four boundaries, while Jahandad made a nine-ball 16, which included a six.

Carlos Brathwaite then provided a late push to the Qalandars' total with a brisk 15. His eight-ball knock featured one boundary and a six.

Right-arm pacer Mohammad Ali once again led the bowling charge for Multan Sultans in PSL 9, picking up two wickets, while Abbas Afridi and Usama Mir each claimed one.