The reigning champions Multan Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan gave credit to Rilee Rossouw and Khushdil Shah after they defeated Karachi Kings by three wickets in the 23rd match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Wednesday.
Multan Sultans were able to chase down 175 runs after Rossouw and Shah were able to add the finishing touches. Mohammad Rizwan scored 76 runs off 56 balls with the help of eight fours whereas Shan Masood trudged to 45 runs off 41 balls. In fact, Multan Sultans needed 52 runs off the last four overs and they were on the ropes.
However, Rossouw smashed 14 runs off just five balls whereas Shah scored 21 runs off just nine balls. They collectively scored two fours and three sixes to help their team get over the line with three balls to spare.
Both the batters were able to keep their team in the run-chase as at one stage it looked like Karachi will defend their score. Rossouw and Shah were able to hit the ground running and both of them played crucial cameos to help their team continue the domination in the ongoing tournament.
Mohammed Rizwan was awarded the Player of the match for his fine knock of 76 runs but he feels he and Shan Masood didn’t bat well as the required run-rate kept on rising when they were at the crease.
Rizwan said in the post-match presentation, “To be honest, we didn’t play well. Our bowling wasn’t good. We got the runs, all credit to our death batters. The way Rossouw and Khushdil batted – they deserve all the credit. The bowlers didn’t stick to their plans, our fielding was below-par, myself and Shan didn’t bat well. It was two-paced, was tough to maintain the momentum. Two matches left, we’ll give opportunities to the youngsters but we’ll play with the same intensity with which we played our first game”.
This was Multan Sultans’ seventh win of the ongoing season and the defending champions will look to continue the good show. The defending champions will next face Quetta Gladiators on Friday at the same venue.