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So that is it from the action tonight. We will be back tomorrow with another game but for now this is Sourabh and Lavil signing off! Good night!
Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans' captain) - We are winning matches but need to improve on the fielding. Usman Khan has a lot of ability and we try to give him opportunities to make use of that. We had a plan to maximize the powerplay here in Karachi. Usman played a brilliant innings today. We will try to focus on each game at a time moving forward.
Usman Khan (Player of the match) - I try to give my 100% at whatever position I bat. I try to spend more and more time in the crease, play in the V, the coaches help me too. I try to always look for the single. The coaches back me and I try to hit the loose deliveries away.
Time for the post-match presentations!
Chris Jordan - Great win tonight, solid team effort. Everyone has welcomed me in the squad, there has been a lot of role clarity and it really helps. I was trying to keep it nice and straight, there was a bit of swing tonight and I know Vince really well (on his first wicket). The environment is really relaxed, we are taking it one game at a time and rolling on with it. (On Mohammad Ali) His work ethic is unbelievable, comes in early before the game and puts in the hard yards, really great to see. Have a good relationship with Rehman bhai, he was the manager when I was at Peshawar.
Shan Masood (Karachi Kings captain): It is a harsh lesson for us. We were off the pace of the game and bowled well in the first 10 overs but then had some fielding lapses. With the bat, we lost the first couple of wickets early and the ball was coming onto the bat nicely. That Quetta game would have put us up 3-2 and today's game would have put 3-3 in our favour. We still have 4 games to play and with things in hand, qualification lies with us. We have an XI with us but then Leus had a stomach bug and played the game today without any practice. In cricket, you have a squad of 20-odd players and we shouldn't make excuses.
MATCH SUMMARY
Multan Sultans won by 20 runs
Usman Khan 106*(59) | Usama Mir 2/29(4) Shoaib Malik 38(28) | Blessing Muzarabani 2/32(4)
Multan Sultans have won their sixth match out of seven and have officially entered the playoffs becoming the first team to do so this season.
They came out to defend 189 like a team which was placed on the top of the points table. They removed 2 of the Karachi batters within the first 6 overs with a brilliant piece of fielding and some good bowling.
It was only for a brief period of time, when Masood and Malik were batting together, did the Karachi Kings look that they would challenge this score. But, a poor shot from skipper Shan Masood saw him going back in the 9th over and it was a bit too much for the other batters. Shoaib Malik was the last hope for them but that too was removed in the 12th over as he threw his wicket away just like most of the Karachi batters. There were little contributions towards the end from the likes of Irfan Khan and Hasan Ali but it was never going to be enough. The bowling was spectacular from Multan with Usama Mir again being the pick with 2 crucial wickets.
Earlier in the piece, Multan Sultans got to a formidable score of 189 on the back of a scintillating century from Usman Khan who was involved in 148-run partnership with skipper Mohammad Rizwan who himself scored 58. Karachi were sloppy in the field and with the bowl as well, only Muzarabani picked 2 wickets for them and looked decent.
20
overs
169/7score
0
4
1lb
2
W
4
runs
Mir Hamza*
4(1)
Mohammad Nawaz
27(17)
Mohammad Ali
1/40
19.6 Mohammad Ali to Mir Hamza, FOUR! MULTAN SULTANS WIN! Full and outside the off stump, Hamza swings his bat wildly and sends it running to the deep extra cover fence for a boundary. That doesn't make a difference to the Multan Sultans, who win the match by 20 runs and become the first team to qualify for the playoffs!