Lahore Qalandars Vs Multan Sultans | Match 17 | PSL 7, Fakhar Continues Exceptional Campaign. After being put into bat by Multan Sultans, Lahore Qalandars opener Fakhar Zaman walked out and did what he’s done in every game so far in this Pakistan Super League season – survive the Powerplay, and be destructive when doing so. Not only is he the only opener to survive every Power Play so far, Fakhar’s 185 strike rate inside the opening six overs is dwarfed only by Islamabad United’s crazy opener Paul Stirling, a combination of wicket preservation and Powerplay scoring that is rarely seen in the shorter formats of the game.
| Lahore Qalandars 182 for 4 (Fakhar 60, Hafeez 43) beat Multan Sultans 130 all out (Zaman Khan 3-21) by 52 runs |
It took seven matches and two venues to get there, but Multan Sultans have finally lost a game. It came against the home favorites Lahore Qalandars in an impressively clinical performance from Shaheen Afridi’s side, who, after posting 182, saw off the defending champions by 52 runs with consummate ease.
Lahore Qalandars flex PSL title-contender muscles to end Multan Sultans winning streak
Fakhar Zaman’s 37-ball 60 sets up unassailable target as league leaders lose for first time
Fakhar Zaman’s Power Play batting against pace has been mightily impressive, the left-hander has adapted well to all lengths and used his crease in doing so – coming down the pitch to 10% of Powerplay deliveries in a ploy to force opposing bowlers to continuously alter their length. This tactic has proved effective, with Fakhar maintaining a strike rate above 180 against full, average and short lengths making him an impossible batter to bowl to in his current form.
Fakhar is not just scoring well against pace inside the Powerplay, he’s also taking innings deep and being productive in doing so, maintaining his well established boundary striking against spin but also limiting dot balls – his dot ball percentage of 18% this season is the lowest among PSL batters to score at least 250 runs in a season. The ability to take innings deep arguably plays into the strengths of the Lahore Qalandars middle to lower order with Hafeez, Salt, Brook, Wiese and Rashid all stronger players of pace and therefore more effective towards the backend of the innings, Qalandars could however still maintain this strength while also adding more value up the order, perhaps promoting Salt to take advantage of the Powerplay should an early wicket occur.
Sultan Squeeze, Qalandars Fire at the Death
After finishing on 56-1 at the end of the Powerplay, Lahore Qalandars struggled to maintain a decent scoring rate through the Middle Overs, scoring at just 6.88rpo between Over 7 and 15. Multan Sultan were able to peg them back by bringing on the spinners, who bowled 6 of those 9 overs. Lahore Qalandars have struggled to get going against spin in the Middle Over this season and it’s a clear problem with their gameplan and perhaps recruitment with the bat – their scoring rate of 7.36 rpo is lower than rival top of the table sides Multan Sultans (8.07 rpo) and Islamabad United (9.87 rpo).
This wasn’t the end for Lahore Qalandars though, as Phil Salt and Mohammad Hafeez combined to take 64 runs from the final five overs to take them to a competitive 183-4. The duo faced just three dot balls at the death and cashed in using power and timing through cow corner as the Sultan pace attack decided to go full without reward, conceding 34 from the 15 deliveries pitched up.
Aggressive Lahore Breaks Multan’s Run
Shaheen Shah Afridi’s early days of T20 captaincy have been very interesting to observe, with the international quality of himself, Haris Rauf and Rashid Khan to blend in alongside emerging pacer Zaman Khan and a fifth bowling quota usually taken up by David Wiese.
As ever Shaheen took the new ball, bowling overs 1 & 3 but their was a change to the norm at the other end, with Haris Rauf taking the 2nd over in place of Zaman, who had taken the 2nd over in the previous 5 games – perhaps an early warning sign to the Multan Sultans batting attack of what was to come.
The Qalandars attack managed to pick up the early wicket of Shan Masood and restrict Sultans to 38-1 at the end of the Powerplay – but skipper Shaheen wasn’t satisfied with that and ready to enter the dull middle overs phase and backload his attack towards the death.
It may not bring reward every time, as shown so far with the Qalandars results so far in the PSL, but the era of Shaheen’s captaincy in T20 cricket is an exciting one, which brings with it an exciting brand of cricket that many neutrals can get behind.
Lahore Qalandars flex PSL title-contender muscles to end Multan Sultans winning streak
Fakhar Zaman’s 37-ball 60 sets up unassailable target as league leaders lose for first time
Lahore Qalandars 182 for 4 (Fakhar 60, Hafeez 43) beat Multan Sultans 130 all out (Zaman Khan 3-21) by 52 runs
It took seven matches and two venues to get there, but Multan Sultans have finally lost a game. It came against the home favorites Lahore Qalandars in an impressively clinical performance from Shaheen Afridi’s side, who, after posting 182, saw off the defending champions by 52 runs with consummate ease.
Fakhar’s 37-ball 60 aside, it didn’t seem as if Sultans were falling too far behind in the game. Imran Tahir and Khushdil kept Qalandars honest with spin through the middle, while Abbas Afridi was sensational with his variations. By the 14-over mark, Qalandars had just 107 on the board, and with Mohammad Hafeez and Kamran Ghulam struggling for momentum, Rizwan’s men seemingly had little to worry about.
But 76 off the final six overs, aided by less-than-accurate death bowling, helped the home side finish up with a daunting 182. In a season where the pendulum of power has shifted dramatically from the chasers to the defenders, Sultans needed a brisk start. But it was one they were emphatically denied, with Afridi and Haris Rauf keeping things tight with the new ball. Afridi got the big wicket of Shan Masood with a lovely off cutter, while Rashid and David Wiese kept the batters quiet.
Qalandars end Sultans’ winning streak with clinical win
Fakhar Zaman’s stupendous run in the ongoing PSL continued, aiding Lahore Qalandars to end Multan Sultans’ winning streak which lasted for six matches. Zaman’s 37-ball 60, along with useful contributions from Mohammad Hafeez (43) and Kamran Ghulam (42) helped the Qalandars post a challenging 182/4. The Sultans did not pose much of a challenge in the chase, losing wickets at regular intervals as they folded for 130. The victory pushed Qalandars to the second spot, with four points separating them from the top-placed Sultans.
The Sultans were kept in check at the start of the chase, finishing the powerplay with under 40 while also losing the in-form Shan Masood for a single-digit score for the first time in this edition of the PSL. Mohammad Rizwan tried to build a partnership with Sohaib Maqsood but the captain had a rather sedate outing in the 44-run association before being bowled by Rashid Khan for a 27-ball 20. It turned out to be a double-wicket ninth over as Rilee Rossouw was out leg-before off the next ball while Tim David prevented the hat-trick.
The Qalandars were 118 for 3 when Zaman was dismissed in the 15th over but made good progress thanks to Mohammad Hafeez and Phil Salt, who combined for a brisk 60-run association off 28 deliveries. Hafeez struck three sixes and a four before being dismissed in the final over by Shahnawaz Dahani. The final over yielded only seven runs but 57 runs came in the four overs before that, ensuring the Qalandars crossed 180. Salt finished unbeaten on 26 off 13, having scored two fours and a six.
Brief scores: Lahore Qalandars 182/4 in 20 overs (Fakhar Zaman 60, Mohammad Hafeez 43; Imran Tahir 1-30) beat Multan Sultans 130 in 19.3 overs (Sohaib Maqsood 29, Tim David 24; Zaman Khan 3-21) by 52 runs.
| Fakhar Zaman | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Qalandars vs Sultans | Pakistan Super League
