Rossouw hits fastest PSL century to push Multan to top

MULTAN: Rilee Rossouw produced the fastest century in PSL history to push Multan Sultan to the top of the table on Saturday, with a 30-run win over Quetta Gladiators at Multan Cricket Stadium.

Multan, having swept all three games in their home city, now have four wins in five, while Quetta sit just below them, with three wins from five matches.

After a sluggish start from the hosts that saw them shuffle along to 65 in 10 overs, Rossouw caught fire all of a sudden, a stunning onslaught resulting in the fastest century in PSL history and an astonishing 134 runs in the final 10 overs that set Quetta Gladiators 200 to win.

With Shane Watson hitting big, at one point it looked like he might pull off a heist for his side. But Quetta’s below-par effort while bowling meant there was too much to do for him and much too little time. Even as the sixes flew, the asking rate continued to balloon, and once Watson was dismissed, Quetta’s fate was sealed.

Shan Masood became the first captain to opt to bat this season, and Quetta looked like they would make him regret that decision when Zeeshan Ashraf fell early and James Vince departed after making 29 off 24. Mohammad Nawaz stifled the batsmen at the start, while Naseem Shah began brightly.

All of that went to ruin after the halfway mark, though. The moment Rossouw biffed Anwar Ali for a six, the first ball of the 11th over, Quetta lost their collective composure.

Rossouw capitalised on the chaos. Just one over between 11 and 18 went for fewer than 12 runs, and while Masood got some of his own hits in, it was all about Rossouw. He would bring up his hundred in the final over; it had taken just 43 balls, including 10 fours and half a dozen sixes.

Watson tried his best to match that, and batting alongside Jason Roy, brought up the 50 partnership in the sixth over. But soon after Roy holed out to deep midwicket, it quickly became clear this would be a one-person effort. That Watson took it as far as he did was achievement enough, and it isn’t often a 41-ball 80 is on the wrong side of a PSL result. But this was clearly Rossouw’s game.

Quetta lacked an innings like the one played by Masood (32-ball 46). Rossouw had, in Masood, the perfect foil on the other end, with his captain ensuring he didn’t give his wicket away or hog too much of the strike. When Masood got the strike, he got away the odd boundary and turned it over quickly to the South African, neither heaping pressure on him nor starving him of the strike. Together, they put together a partnership that totalled 139 runs in 64 balls.

By contrast, Quetta managed no partnership greater than Roy and Watson’s 57 at the top, and no other Quetta batsman could even reach 15. That meant the pressure was squarely on Watson’s shoulders. Other batsmen who clicked in earlier matches for Quetta failed this time. Azam Khan fell early and Ben Cutting holed out for 12.

The most impressive bowling figures were posted by Imran Tahir: 4-0-27-2. While Watson and the rest of the Quetta top order ran riot, Tahir ensured the game wouldn’t run away from Multan. Varying his flight, pace and googly with all the experience any T20 side treasures in him, Tahir kept the Quetta batsmen guessing.

Score Board

Multan Sultans won toss

Multan Sultans

†Zeeshan Ashraf c Nawaz b Naseem 8

JM Vincec Azam Khan b Nawaz 29

*Shan Masood c Azam Khan b Hasnain 46

MM Alib Cutting 6

RR Rossouw not out 100

Khushdil Shahc Anwar Ali b Sohail 1

Sohail Tanvir not out 1

Extras (lb 1, nb 1, w 6) 8

Total (5 wickets, 20 overs) 199

Did not bat: Bilawal Bhatti, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Irfan, Imran Tahir

Fall: 1-23, 2-40 , 3-48, 4-187 , 5-196

Bowling: Mohammad Nawaz(3) 3-0-16-1, Naseem Shah 4-0-45-1, Sohail Khan 4-0-45-1, Mohammad Hasnain 4-0-38-1, BCJ Cutting 4-0-42-1, Anwar Ali 1-0-12-0

Quetta Gladiators

JJ Roy c Ali b Bilawal Bhatti 30

SR Watson c Ali b Imran Tahir 80

Ahsan Ali c Vince b Khushdil Shah 14

Azam Khan c sub b Imran Tahir 6

BCJ Cutting c Shan Masood b Bhatti 12

Anwar Ali c sub b Bilawal Bhatti 14

Sohail Khan run out 1

Mohammad Nawaz(3) not out 5

*†Sarfaraz Ahmed not out 3

Extras (b 1, lb 1, nb 2) 4

Total (7 wickets, 20 overs) 169

Yet to bat: Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain

Fall: 1-57, 2-98 , 3-122, 4-139 , 5-156 , 6-160 , 7-163

Bowling: Mohammad Irfan 4-0-49-0, Mohammad Ilyas 3-0-37-0, Sohail Tanvir 4-0-27-0 6.75, Bilawal Bhatti 4-0-26-3 6.50, Imran Tahir 4-0-27-2, Khushdil Shah 1-0-1-1

Result: Multan Sultans won by 30 runs

Man of the match: Rilee Rossouw (Multan Sultans)

Umpires: Asif Yaqoob and Faisal Afridi (Pakistan), TV Umpire: Shozab Raza (Pakistan). Match Referee: Javed Malik (Pakistan)