Farhan century floors Kingsmen and keeps them winless
Sultans overhauled Kingsmen's 226-run target with eight balls to spare to go top of the table
Sultans overhauled Kingsmen's 226-run target with eight balls to spare to go top of the table
Commentator: Rashad Mahbub
And that's a wrap, folks. Do join us again tomorrow for another PSL double-header. Until then, taaa-taaa!
Ashton Turner: "Across the first two games, we've had contributions from all of our playing 11, which is a satisfying box to tick so early in the tournament. No doubt we'll take a lot of confidence out of this win. You always need the context of both innings to really judge a performance. While we'll put our hands up and say we weren't perfect, and perfect isn't really attainable, there are things, particularly in that first half of the game, that we can reflect on to come back better prepared and execute better for the remainder of the tournament. Given the second innings, we can cut the bowlers a bit of slack because the conditions were pretty tough. it was wet from the first ball of the game, and it's clearly a good batting wicket. [Farhan] It's amazing. One of the fortunate parts of traveling the world playing cricket is getting to see some amazing players, and he's one of them. He's not the only one, though; there are some pretty talented cricketers in this country. [Enjoying the gig as a skipper] Yeah, look, it's not without its challenges, but it's a challenge I'm really enjoying. I've got a great group around me. We've got a great squad assembled, the support staff and coaching staff, and we're all in this together. We're looking to find ways each and every day of helping each other improve. We feel like we're well-planned, and hopefully, that's going to allow us to have some success."
Marnus Labuschagne: "[Decision to bat first could have been looked again?] Yes and no. I think whenever you get 225 on the board, you're pretty confident it's defendable. Obviously, it wasn't tonight. They batted beautifully. I thought the openers got off to a perfect start, which is what you need when chasing that sort of score. [Fielding lapses] Yeah, we probably just didn't take all our chances, and it cost us. But we set out to come back in this tournament and show intent. I thought Maaz and Saim were amazing at the top; they just set the tone. Then Sharjeel, in his first game back, got 50 off 25 in the middle order, and Usman came out and set the tone as well. I'm really proud of that innings. Even Mohammad Ali; I think his third over [second over] was awesome. There are a lot of great things there, even if we didn't get the result. [Bowling plans] That was our last game here, so we go to Karachi for the rest of the tournament now. I think there's probably a little bit on me regarding that 15th over; I could have looked at bowling Maaz or Saim then, but those are things you look back on in retrospect. We just have to keep trusting our skills and working on executing to get better. [Plus points] Yeah, there are a lot of positives, and I'm really proud of the effort the boys put in. Things didn't go our way, but it's a long tournament. We'll come back stronger and learn some great lessons from this game."
Player of the Match: Sahibzada Farhan
Odinlass: "Sahibzada making a habit of carrying his team."
ShahSafeer: "Sahibzada has already 9 t20 hundreds and he's only 29. He is probably one of the only ones who's gonna challenge Gayle's record for most hundreds in this format"
10:40 pm It was a night of runs galore as the Multan Sultans pulled off another clinical chase to secure another victory and climb to the top of the table. Smith started with the same aggressive intent that Sadaqat showed for the Kingsmen, and Farhan quickly joined the party. The Sultans brought up their 50 in just 3.4 overs, and the onslaught continued as both openers hammered the bowlers across the ground, racing to 83 runs within the powerplay. The 100-run mark was reached in only 7.1 overs as the batters toyed with the Kingsmen's bowling unit. Their 104-run opening stand finally ended when Smith was caught at long on for 46. By the ten over mark, the Sultans had reached 123 for the loss of two wickets, and the chase remained firmly on track as long as Farhan was at the crease. Farhan was dropped by Niazi in the 8th over on 57 runs. Usman missed a stumping chance to dismiss Masood, who then struck two sixes and a four in that same over before eventually being caught at square leg. 21 runs off Labuschagne's 15th over effectively sealed the result, with Farhan still finding boundaries all around the ground. Arafat then stole the show in the death overs, hitting three boundaries in the 17th over to make the finish even more comfortable. Farhan remained unbeaten until the end, finishing with 106 runs to claim his 9th T20 century. While the pitch was a batter's paradise tonight, the Kingsmen have plenty of work to do, particularly with their bowling unit. With three losses in three games, the new franchise must head back to the drawing board.
Multan Sultans won by 6 wickets
7 runs needed from 12 balls. Farhan on 99*.
Sultans overhauled Kingsmen's 226-run target with eight balls to spare to go top of the table