KARACHI: Arafat Minhas starred with a three-wicket haul as Multan Sultans edged past Karachi Kings by 11 runs in the 28th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11.
Chasing a daunting 208 here at the National Bank Stadium on Sunday, Karachi Kings were bowled out for 196 in 19.4 overs.
Jason Roy and Saad Baig started positively in pursuit of the chase, adding 29 in 2.2 overs before Arafat Minhas struck twice to reduce them to 41-2 at the end of four overs.
Roy made 16 from nine while Salman Ali Agha was cleaned up for two runs. The Kings were pegged back further with the dismissal of Baig, who hit four boundaries before getting caught on 21.
As a result, Karachi Kings were in dire straits at 47-3 at the end of the powerplay.
With the side in deep trouble, Reeza Hendricks and Moeen Ali launched a recovery with a 67-run partnership. The pair managed to pull things back, with the scorecard reading 114 in 12.5 overs.
However, Hendricks was caught just one shy of a half-century. He top-scored with 49 from 32, hitting two sixes and five fours.
Following his dismissal, the Kings’ batting lineup wobbled until Abbas Afridi’s cameo, which provided them a glimmer of hope. The right-hander hit 34 from 16, including two sixes and three fours.
He was caught in the penultimate over, which dashed the Kings’ hope. With 18 required off the final over, Mohammad Wasim kept his nerve and gave nothing away.
For Multan Sultans, Arafat Minhas picked up three wickets.
Earlier, Shan Masood’s 46 from 25 balls and Imran Randhawa’s 26 from eight balls at the back end of the innings propelled Multan Sultans to a massive total.
Asked to bat first, Multan Sultans racked up 207-7 in 20 overs.
Sultans were jolted with an early blow in the shape of Steve Smith, who was caught without scoring. The early wicket brought Josh Philippe to the crease, who added a 66-run partnership with Awais Zafar.
The pair batted briskly, bringing the team’s total to 77 in 7.2 overs. Philippe made 44 from 23 balls, including five fours and two sixes.
Despite the wicket, runs continued to flow from Multan Sultans batters as Awais Zafar was involved in another 44-run stand with Shan Masood.
However, Karachi Kings bowlers made a comeback in the second half of the innings as Awais and Shan fell in successive overs. At this stage, the scorecard read 135-4 in 13.2 overs. The former hit five fours and a six in his 36 off 27, whereas the latter struck three fours and three sixes in his knock.
Karachi Kings bowlers squeezed the run flow and took wickets at regular intervals, and reduced Sultans to 174-7 in 18.2 overs, until Imran Randhawa’s late onslaught.
The right-hander scored 21 off Hasan Ali’s final over to take the total to over 200 runs.
For Karachi Kings, Khushdil Shah remained the pick of the bowlers, taking three wickets in his quota of four overs.
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