A clinical all-round display — anchored by a blazing half-century from Steve Smith — gave Multan Sultans a convincing six-wicket triumph over PSL debutants RawalPindiz in Match 31 of the Pakistan Super League’s 11th edition at Karachi’s National Bank Stadium on Tuesday evening.
Chasing 167, the 2021 champions wrapped up the job with eight deliveries remaining, never truly looking in trouble despite a scratchy opening few overs.
Sultans lost Sahibzada Farhan early — bowled out for 20 in the fourth over with the total at 29 — but that setback only seemed to wake Smith up. The veteran Australian switched into high gear immediately after the wicket fell, launching into a blistering 56 off just 31 balls, peppered with five boundaries and three maximums. He stitched together a brisk 69-run second-wicket stand with Josh Philippe, who contributed a measured 17 from 19 deliveries, before the pair departed in back-to-back overs.
With three wickets down and 67 still needed off 51 balls, most sides would have felt the pressure — but captain Ashton Turner and his vice-captain Shan Masood kept their heads. Their controlled 57-run alliance steadily tilted the match firmly in Multan’s favour. Masood eventually fell for 20 off 22 balls when Razaullah struck on the first ball of the penultimate over, but by then, the target was well within reach.
Turner, calm and assured throughout, finished unbeaten on 37 off 21 balls, guiding his side home in that same over with Arafat Minhas (7*) alongside him. Asif Afridi proved the most threatening of the Pindiz bowlers, bagging two for 28, while Razaullah and Saad Masood each picked up one scalp.
Rawalpindi Pindiz vs Multan Sultans
Batting first after winning the toss, the newly-formed RawalPindiz franchise made a meal of their own powerplay, losing Shahzaib Khan for a duck and Yasir Khan for just four inside the first two overs, leaving them reeling at six for two.
Captain Mohammad Rizwan and Daryl Mitchell then consolidated carefully, putting on 63 for the third wicket before Mitchell was stumped off Arafat Minhas’ bowling in the 11th over. Rizwan, who frequently shoulders the batting responsibility for this side, departed for 26 from 29 balls — a useful knock, though well below his best.
Mitchell continued his innings productively alongside Sam Billings, and the fourth-wicket pair added 52 runs off 39 deliveries before Mohammad Wasim Jr bounced out Billings in the 17th over for a 20-ball 29, featuring two fours and a six.
The late highlight came from Dian Forrester, a left-handed hitter who arrived at number six and immediately changed the tempo of the innings. Forrester smashed 37 off a mere 15 deliveries — three sixes, three fours — in a cameo that injected the kind of late energy that scoreboards remember. Mitchell, the anchor throughout, rounded off an excellent personal performance with an unbeaten 58 from 46 deliveries, including three fours and two sixes, as the pair added 45 unbroken runs to lift RawalPindiz to 166 for six.
For Sultans’ bowling unit, Mohammad Imran, Peter Siddle, Wasim Jr and Minhas each contributed a single wicket.
In the end, 166 proved roughly 15 to 20 runs short on a surface that favoured batters, and Multan — backed by Smith’s brilliance — made the task look straightforward.
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