Multan Sultans have handed Lahore Qalandars a target of 161 runs as the two formidable sides come face-to-face during the thrilling qualifier of the eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore today.
Opting to bat first, the Sultans managed to post 160/5 in their quota of 20 overs at the back of a brilliant 57-run knock by Pollard.
Earlier, the Sultans were off to a cautious start as their in-form opening pair of skipper Mohammad Rizwan and fastest PSL centurion Usman Khan could accumulate 53 runs before Haris Rauf castled the latter in the eighth over.
Usman could score 29 off 28 deliveries and hit four boundaries.
The strong bowling unit of Qalandars then pushed the visitors to the backfoot with calculated bowling, restricting them to 70/1 halfway through.
Young pacer Zaman Khan then drew a second breakthrough for the Qalandars as he dismissed dangerous Rilee Rossouw (13 off 12) on the first delivery of the 11th over and dented the Sultans’ march for a big total.
Meanwhile, skipper Rizwan, who was hanging around with his gritty knock also fell short after stitching a 20-run partnership for the third wicket with Pollard. He managed to score 33 in 29 balls with the help of three boundaries.
With their struggling at 90/3 in 13 overs, Pollard brought his experience into play and put on a match-defining 65-run partnership with Tim David and ignited the flow of runs for the visitors.
The vital stand pulled Sultans out of heaps of trouble with Pollard leading the charge before falling in the final over. He top-scored for his side with a 34-ball 57, featuring a boundary and six sixes.
David, who out of his character, held his ground firm amid Pollard’s carnage, remained unbeaten with a 22-run cameo off 15 balls, smashing one boundary and a six.
Haris led the bowling attack for the Qalandars with 3/34 while Rashid Khan and Zaman made one scalp each.
Playing XIs
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Mirza Tahir Baig, Abdullah Shafique, Sam Billings (wk), Hussain Talat, Sikandar Raza, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan.
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (wk/c), Usman Khan, Rilee Rossouw, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Sheldon Cottrell, Ihsanullah.
