Rizwan century denies Karachi Kings a comeback win
Vince and Imad almost stole an improbable win for Karachi, but Abbas Afridi held his nerves for Sultans in a last-ball thriller
Vince and Imad almost stole an improbable win for Karachi, but Abbas Afridi held his nerves for Sultans in a last-ball thriller
Scorer: @Thilak_Rama | Commentator: Shashwat Kumar
10:14pm Right. That is a wrap from us for tonight. Hope you enjoyed our coverage as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. Do join us tomorrow as Islamabad United take on Peshawar Zalmi. Until next time, this is me (Shashwat) signing off on behalf of Thilak and everyone else at ESPNcricinfo! Goodbye, goodnight and take care!
Mohammad Rizwan, the Multan Sultans captain, is also the Player of the Match: (On the Multan leg) The crowd supported us very much and showed a lot of love. Hopefully we will get as much support in all the other cities as well. I did not play well early on. The ball was coming onto the bat. Shan was playing well so I took my time. Shoaib bhai and Imran bhai were bowling brilliantly in the middle overs. I want to give credit to our bowlers. At the half-way stage, we thought we were 10-15 runs short. The way Abbas bowled the last over, the way Ihsanullah has been bowling this tournament, the way Ilyas bowled - they should be given credit. Cricket presents a new challenge every day and we hope that we can continue this momentum moving forward.
Imad Wasim, Karachi Kings captain: We had it in the bag. We could not finish it off. It is unfortunate but we lacked game awareness in the end. I think the intent was really nice. In the middle overs, we slowed it down. In T20 cricket, we have to finish games. We have not been able to do that (this season). We have to sit and talk. If we lose one more, we might be out of the competition. It is just a matter of clicking and believing in ourselves.
Andy Flower: It is our last game in Multan this year and this was a great way to finish it. It was a brilliant atmosphere and brilliant for our young Pakistani bowlers to finish off the game like that. Rizwan was making a lot of decisions out there. It was a tough game to captain. Vince played outstandingly. We did really well to win it after Vince's onslaught.
10pm Well, it will take some time for me to get over that game. It ebbed, flowed, twisted, turned and ultimately, the swung the Sultans' way. Abbas, tasked with bowling the final over, held his nerve just when it mattered. Cutting and Imad, after getting the Kings so close, would be ruing how they let this game slip.
All that aside, this was a perfect advertisement for the PSL. The game had so many thrilling performances - right from Rizwan scoring a hundred to Vince producing a sensational knock. Ihsanullah breathed fire throughout his spell, with Khushdil's spell of 1-25 also playing a major role in the Sultans' victory. Don't forget how tidily Malik bowled either, and how both teams kept fighting until the very end. Slightly unfortunate result for the Kings, considering how close they came but you have to admire how the Sultans kept believing a pulled that victory out of the bag.
5 runs needed off the final ball. A boundary will ensure a Super Over. A six, and the Kings will win
Irfan Khan is the new batter at the crease. 6 needed off 2 balls. Where is this game heading?
BCJ Cutting c Pollard b Abbas Afridi 12 (23m 10b 1x4 1x6) SR: 120.00
6 off 4 now, and the wheels seem to have come off for the Sultans. Can Cutting finish it with one blow?
7 off 4, and this has suddenly become the Kings' game to lose
Abbas is now feeling the pinch. 13 off 5
Karachi Kings needed more than a boundary a ball, and yet somehow, they found themselves in pole position with four deliveries to go
Vince and Imad almost stole an improbable win for Karachi, but Abbas Afridi held his nerves for Sultans in a last-ball thriller