RAWALPINDI: Hasan Nawaz’s heroics and Khawaja Nafay’s blazing half-century propelled Quetta Gladiators to a narrow win over Multan Sultans in the 28th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 10 here at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a challenging 186-run target, Quetta Gladiators secured a thrilling two-wicket win on the last ball of the penultimate over to secure top spot on the PSL 10 points table.
Gladiators started the chase rapidly as Khawaja Nafay and skipper Saud Shakeel put on a blazing 77-run stand in 7.5 overs.
Nafay, in only his second match of the season, set the tone with 12 runs off Dilshan Madushanka’s third over. On the other hand, Saud Shakeel played second fiddle, rotating the strike to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Quetta Gladiators were 60-0 at the end of the powerplay, thanks to a 12-run fifth over of Ubaid Shah’s bowling. The onslaught continued as Nafay reached his half-century in the eighth over but was eventually dismissed for 51 runs off 26 balls, which included five fours and four sixes.
Quetta Gladiators were steady in the chase at this stage, with 78-1 at the end of the eighth over. However, things started turning for Multan Sultans as they struck on regular intervals.
Saud Shakeel was dismissed in the ninth after scoring 18 off 24 balls. Multan Sultans returned strongly with another wicket in the 10th as Shahid Aziz dismissed Avishka Fernando.
However, Sri Lanka’s Dinesh Chandimal arrived at the crease and smoked 17 runs off Mohammad Hasnain’s 11th over, bringing the score to 107-3. The Gladiators were once again looking steady in the chase amid a brief 29-run partnership between Chandimal and Hasan Nawaz.
Chandimal was removed after scoring 17 off 10 balls with the help of two fours and a six. Soon after, Danish Aziz followed him with a five-ball duck as Multan Sultans sensed a victory as the scorecard read 123-5 in 13.5 overs.
Despite wickets tumbling around, Hasan Nawaz forged brief partnerships with the lower order, eventually taking Quetta Gladiators to 161-7 in 17.3 overs. Faheem Ashraf scored 16 runs, while Mohammad Wasim managed only one before getting out in the same over.
Nevertheless, Hasan Nawaz remained resilient during the chase. He hit a six on the last ball, leading his team to victory in a tense finish, as Quetta scored 11 runs in the last over.
He scored an eye-catching 67* off 38 balls with the help of six towering sixes and two fours, which earned him the Player of the Match award.
For Multan Sultans, Shahid Aziz was the standout bowler, taking three for 29 in his four overs.
Earlier, opting to bat first, Multan Sultans posted 185 on the loss of seven wickets in their allocated 20 overs.
The Sultans were jolted with an early blow in the second over as skipper Mohammad Rizwan was clean bowled by Faheem Ashraf, leaving the side at 12/1 after 1.2 overs.
However, Yasir Khan held firm after setting the tone with consecutive boundaries in the first over.
Yasir partnered with Jahanzeib Sultan to establish an aggressive 52-run partnership for the second wicket. Both players attacked the Gladiators’ bowling, consistently hitting boundaries and keeping the scoring rate high.
The partnership came to an end when Jahanzeib was out for 25 runs off 21 balls, dismissed by Usman Tariq, leaving Multan at 64/2 in 6.5 overs.
Yasir continued to lead the innings with a dynamic approach, eyeing a half-century, but he was soon dismissed for 45 runs off 25 balls. At this stage, Multan found themselves at 79/3 after nine overs.
Tayyab Tahir and Humayon Altaf then took charge, forging a 41-run partnership for the fourth wicket. Their partnership ended when Khurram Shahzad dismissed Altaf for 16 runs off 13 balls, reducing Sultans to 120/4 in 13.2 overs.
Tayyab, in good form, fell in the 15th over after scoring 36 runs off 24 balls, leaving Multan at 136/5. As the innings progressed, the Sultans lost more wickets, with Abrar Ahmed removing Peter Hatzoglou for just one run.
Despite this, Aamer Azmat made a significant impact in the final overs, hitting a huge six off Khurram Shahzad to help the team surpass 150 runs in the 18th over.
Aamer Azmat remained not out on 21 runs off 16 balls, while Mohammad Hasnain hit a boundary in the last over to wrap up the innings.
Usman Tariq was the standout bowler for Quetta Gladiators, achieving impressive figures of 3 wickets for 32 runs in his four overs.
PLAYING XIs
Multan Sultans: Yasir Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (c), Jahanzaib Sultan, Tayyab Tahir, Humayon Altaf, Muhammad Amir Barki, Shahid Aziz, Peter Hatzoglou, Dilshan Madhushanka, Mohammad Hasnain, Ubaid Shah.
Quetta Gladiators: Saud Shakeel, Avishka Fernando, Dinesh Chandimal, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Khawaja Nafay, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Wasim, Khurram Shahzad, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq.
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