.jpg?im=Resize,height=373 "'Corruption At It's Peak': Pakistan Cricketer Exposes Police Extortion")
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Sohaib Maqsood believes Pakistan lose to India in World Cups because of “overexcitement”
World T20 2021: Pakistan call up Shoaib Malik as replacement for injured Sohaib Maqsood
Pakistan’s Sohaib Maqsood has been ruled out of the World T20 2021 due to a back injury. The tournament is scheduled to take place in UAE and Oman in October-November. Though there is no official confirmation of a replacement for Maqsood, all-rounder Shoaib Malik might be included in the squad as per the sources. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced the final 15-man team for the competition on Friday. The selectors included three players in the team with Sarfaraz and Haider replacing Azam Khan and Mohammad Hasnain respectively. Opening batsman Fakhar Zaman who was earlier included in the reserves had swapped his positions with Khushdil Shah. "After reviewing player performances in the highly competitive National T20 and in consultation with the team management, we have decided to include Haider Ali, Fakhar Zaman and Sarfaraz Ahmed in the squad for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021," chief selector Muhammad Wasim said. Pakistan are slated to begin their campaign against arch-rivals India on October 24 in Dubai. The Pakistan side lifted the World T20 once back in the year 2009 while ended as runners up in the first edition in 2007 after suffering a defeat against The Men in Blue.
England punish clueless Pakistan to stretch T20I series to a finale
It was a total team effort by England led by stand-in skipper Jos Buttler as the trounced Pakistan, who gave up rather easily and timidly. The 45 runs victory by the hosts in their maiden T20I game at Headingley, Leeds would mean that they head to Old Trafford with renewed energy and a chance to win the series which stands at 1-1. Chasing a target of 200, Pakistan had a reasonably good start getting to 50 in the sixth over. However, one shot too many by Babar Azam meant that he was caught at short covers by Dawid Malan off the bowling of Saqib Mahmood on the fourth delivery of the last over of the powerplay. As soon as he was gone, Pakistan seemed to lose the lot as Sohaib Maqsood departed soon after, getting stumped off an Adil Rashid leg spinner which turned just a bit to deceive him. At 71-2 in the ninth over and with Mohammad Rizwan at the crease, the visitors still fancied a fightback, but it wasn’t to be. They lost their next four wickets in a span of 21 balls and 23 runs, slipping to 105-6 at the end of the 14th over. Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan tried to hit as many runs as possible but it was never going to be a problem for the English side as they eventually beat Pakistan by 45 runs. Rizwan top-scored with 37 while Shadab remained unbeaten at 36. For the Three Lions, Mahmood took three wickets while both Moeen and Rashid pick two each. Earlier in the day, it was a bizarre decision by Pakistan to ask England to bat first after winning the toss, given the fact that they won the last game batting first and the wicket was to assist spinners as the day passed. Nevertheless asked to bat, England couldn’t get off to a flier as Roy was removed in the very first over. Malan went out soon as well and it was then that the onslaught from Moon and Buttlerbegan as the pair added 67 in just 31 balls. While Moeen gout out for a 16 balls 36, Buttler carried on his merry ways joined by Livingstone. The former hit a fifty and got out on 59 from 39 while the latter hit enormous sixes for his 23 ball 38. Courtesy of these innings the men in Red and Blue Managed to get to 200 even after getting all out in the 20th over. Moeen was adjudged Man of the Match for his all-around efforts.
Haris Sohail unlikely to play first ODI against England, remains doubtful for entire series
In what could be a big blow for Pakistan ahead of their limited-overs series against England, middle-order batsman Haris Sohail is unlikely to take part in the opening ODI slated to be played on Thursday. He also remains highly doubtful for the remaining two matches as well. The stylish left-handed batsman complained of an injury in his right leg and had to subsequently miss the practice sessions and both intrasquad games in Derbyshire. Sources close to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said that Sohail will undergo an MRI scan and is already under the rehabilitation process and doesn’t seem fit to take part in the first ODI. "He has a leg injury and is unlikely to take part in the first ODI and could even miss out on the remaining two matches," the source was quoted as saying by Sportstar. With Haris Sohail missing out in all probability, Pakistan could hand potential debuts to two players. Abdullah Shafique or batting all-rounders like Saud Shakil and Agha Salman could be in line to make their international debuts. Meanwhile, Sohaib Maqsood who returned to the team after a hiatus owing to his stupendous run of form in the recently concluded PSL is expected to get a look in. Coming back to Haris Sohail, the southpaw suffered a back injury during the tour of South Africa in 2019 and had to subsequently fly back home from the Rainbow nation. He also flew back to Pakistan midway through the tour of New Zealand.
Misbah-ul-Haq hoping to solve the middle order woes in tour of England and West Indies
Head coach of the Pakistan national cricket team Misbah-ul-Haq is trying to focus on a couple of middle-order positions ahead of the T20 World Cup and the series against England and world champions in this format West Indies will serve as a dress rehearsal for them to get things in order and shuffle the batting order around to see which might work for them in the future. Pakistan who landed in UK a couple of days ago has enough time in their hand to set things rolling before the showpiece event slated for November-December this year. They will play three ODIs and as many T20s against England and will then fly to the Caribbean shores to lock horns against England in a five-match T20I series. "The PSL made a few things clear," Misbah was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz on Sunday (June 27). "I think it is that one slot we are trying to fill, at No. 5 and No. 6, that we've had issues with. We have Azam Khan now and Sohaib Maqsood with us to see if they can, and what combination we can make with them,” he added. It must be noted that ever since Misbah took over the reins as the head coach of the national side as many as fourteen players have been tried in those two middle-order positions. With Azam Khan and Shoaib Maqsood coming in the mix, they will certainly look to make these two positions their own as Pakistan prepare for the World Cup. "Overall, the bowling we know we have pretty much our attack. At the top of the order, we have our four pretty much and their replacements. So, we know our side more or less but a couple of positions that we need to focus on over the next two series,” Misbah said. Despite not having a productive time with the bat in the PSL, Azam Khan was selected on the basis of his past performances while Shoaib Maqsood returned to the national squad after a long hiatus owing to a rich vein of form during the recently concluded PSL. He scored 428 runs in the tournament but prefers batting in the top order. "We try that whatever players we have here are fully prepared and that we show confidence in them so they go out there and perform. Azam no doubt is talented although he is a little out of form recently. But everyone knows that in modern T20 cricket, the power you need at five or six, the strike rate you need, he has the potential for that. So, looking forward to seeing him, we just have to see what combination we want to go with,” Misbah stated. Pakistan had to select the team for both the international series before the resumption of the second leg of PSL. Had they got a chance to analyse the recent performances, Shahnawaz Dhani had a realistic chance of making it to the squad after finishing the tournament as the leading wicket-taker with 20 scalps under his belt. "It's always a good thing that the maximum number of players are in good form and in a good frame of mind. But you learn from cricket that it doesn't matter when you have good form and runs and you still don't perform. And sometimes you're not in good form but you come with more focus, you try harder to recapture that form. "One good thing is we have time. We have ODIs first, so we can utilise that time and then be properly prepared as we go into the T20s. Form is not something that sticks with you permanently or goes away permanently. As coaching staff and players you try and get that back and we have enough time to do it,” Misbah concluded.
PSL 2021 | Final: It's like we've found a new Shoaib Akhtar; Azhar Mahmood can’t praise Dahani enough
Multan Sultans made it to their first-ever Final in their fourth season in Pakistan Super League, having played their first in 2018. And in their very first attempt, the team managed to win the tournament and that too by a huge margin of 47 runs against four-time finalists and one-time winner Peshawar Zalmi. Shahnawaz Dahani with the ball and Sohaib Maqsood with the bat were two real finds of the tournament for the green brigade as other more experienced players like skipper Mohammad Rizwan, Sohai Tanvir, Imran Tahir and Rilee Rossouw too chipped in with their contributions. After the victory, the players and support staff couldn’t hold themselves back and fully expressed the winning feeling. In fact, the 23-year-old Dahani was the centre of attraction as the Multan bowling coach and former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood compared him to one of Pakistan’s most lethal bowlers, but equally attractive personalities, Shoaib Akhtar. Describing Dahani at the post-match interview, Azhar said, “He is always smiling, whether he's been hit or not. The whole team lights up by his reactions. He is chirpy and always in a good mood, It's almost like we've found a new Shoaib Akhtar.” Talking about the bowling abilities of the Larkana born, Azhar said, “This is just a start for him, we'll work on his outswingers, on his inswinger. There are things that I will write down in a report and send to the Pakistan bowling coach for better management of Dahani.” The bowler who was awarded the Best Emerging Player and Best bowler award for picking up the highest wickets in the tournament (20), has been picked in the Pakistan squad for the tour of England and the West Indies. Multan skipper Rizwan was excited about the victory and credited the ‘Mighty Allah’ for providing strength to his entire team to fight it through after being at the bottom at the start of the Abu Dhabi leg. “Finals are pressure games - you can't avoid that in the final. We discussed that and brought it down to two things - it would either be the pressure of batting first or batting second,” he said about the preparation of the team ahead of this all-important game. The 29-year-old praised his bowlers and also credited the management to allow him the freedom to trust his players and play his team. “When you go for the win, you need to ignore the noise (criticism of team selection). With Maqsood we felt he wasn't getting enough of a hit and then we decided to push him up and it's paid off. And our bowlers have been fantastic throughout.” Sohaib Maqsood, who was drafted into the Pakistan team for his brilliant performances earlier in the morning as replacement of Haider Ali, after the latter was thrown out of the team for disciplinary reasons, played an amazing knock to bag Man of the Match and Man of the Series award at the tournament. The Multan born was happy with the victory and credited a good domestic season and his team management for the success. “I got a lot of confidence from the domestic season. In the PSL I hadn't established myself, but the management showed faith in me and sent me up the order. It all started falling in place particularly when I started batting No. 3, which helped turn things around,” said Maqsood. The 34-year-old, who gave up red-ball cricket to focus on his white-ball skills was thrilled by the National call up but said that would focus on his fearless cricket approach rather than changing anything. “I don't want to do anything different - if I get a chance, I'll play with the same kind of mindset and aggression,” he said. Before the presentation ceremony, the likes of Blessing Muzarabani, Tahir, Dhani and Rossouw thanked the management for all their efforts and faith shown in the team. Tahir had special words reserved for his family whom he was seeing after more than a month. “My family is here and all the celebrations, the sprinting was mostly for them. I want to tell my son that if he wants to play, he would have to play like a champion,” said the leg spinner.
PSL 2021 | Final: Multan Sultans' dramatic turnaround encapsulated by historic maiden title win
“Started from the bottom, now we're here,” If anything that could describe the journey of the Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League 2021, it is these lines by Drake. The journey has been such that nobody gave any chance to the Mohammad Rizwan led side after the end of the first leg in Karachi. They came to Abu Dhabi being at the bottom of the table alongside Quetta Gladiators, having just two points from five games. But, now they are the champions of the Pakistan Super League beating the one time champion and four-time finalists Peshawar Zalmi in their very first attempt at the Championship. In the final, the Sultans were on top of their game in every aspect. The only thing that the Rizwan led side lost in the game was the toss, post that it was all domination from the team from Southern Punjab. With the help of a steady opening partnership of 68 by skipper Rizwana and Shan Masood, the Sultans got off to a great start and the shoulders of the Zalmis started dropping from thereon. Adding to the drudgery of the Peshawar team was dropping Sohaib Maqsood’s catch by Hazratullah Zazai when the former was at just six. Maqsood made the Zalmi pay for it big time, hitting an unbeaten 65 off 35 balls. He along with Rilee Rossouw created a storm in the Sheikh Zayed Stadium of Abu Dhabi. The two added 98 off just 44 balls and forced the Multan side to get near 200. When Rossouw got out after completing his 20 balls 50, Khushdil Shah came along and played a cameo of five balls 15 runs to get the team to 206-4. The chase of Zalmi never got going in the first half of the innings as they were struggling in the sixties with three wickets down in such a big chase. Shoaib Malik and Rivaman Powell tried to bring things under control and at one point with 70 needed in the last five overs, and the two of them at the crease, the probability of a dream comeback seemed possible for a moment. But that wasn’t going to be the case, as just after the strategic timeout Blessing Muzarabani Struck with fuller length outside off which Powell nicked to Rizwan behind the stumps. Malik’s stay post that wasn’t long either as he was caught at deep square leg by Imran Tahir off a Sohail Tanvir slower bouncer. Post that it was all formalities and Tahir made sure that those formalities were completed as quickly as possible, removing Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Imran in just one over. Zalmi, however, didn’t get all our as Sameen Gul and Mohammad Irfan played out the last three overs before handing the Sultans a huge 47 run win to lift the trophy. For Sultans, Tahir was the pick of the bowlers as he ended with 3/33 in his four overs while 39-year-old Malik was the highest scorer for Zalmi with his 28 balls 48. Sohaib Maqsood who has been drafted into the Pakistan squad dramatically after disciplinary actions against Haider Ali was awarded Man of the Match as well as Man of the Series. He scored 428 runs in 12 innings throughout the tournament. His average of 47.55 and his strike rate of 156.77 was the highest among all batters from Multan Sultans Shahnawaz Dahani [Dhani] was adjudged the Best Emerging Player of the Tournament as he also ended as the highest wicket-taker to win the prestigious Fazal Mahmood cap with 20 wickets in 11 innings.
PSL 2021 | Qualifier: Khushdil Shah’s cameo, Sohail Tanvir’s magical spell send Multan Sultans to their first-ever Final
Cometh the hour, cometh the man they said and Sohail Tanvir, the veteran Multan Sultans bowler actually lived up to it, pulling out his best performance of Pakistan Super League 2021 to send his team to its first-ever Final in the history of the PSL. His 3-17 in the four overs spell at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium consisted of the wickets of the most dangerous Islamabad United men Colin Munro, Usman Khawaja and their skipper Shadab Khan. Khushdil Shah and Sohaib Maqsood were the heroes with the bat for Multan Sultans. While Maqsood scored a 41 ball 59 in his usual attacking style with the help of seven fours and three sixes, it was Khushidl’s cameo at the end which really got the team an advantage over the United. The 26-year-old left-hander smacked a 22 ball 42 which included 29 runs in one over, in which he smacked youngster Akif Javed all over the park for four sixes and a four. It took Sultans to 180, a never before achieved total for the team in the Abu Dhabi leg. Chasing 181, United, the most successful team of the tournament in the league stage were rattled by Tanvir who removed Munro in the very first over. Soon Mohammad Akhlaq and Shadab too departed, leaving Islamabad reeling at 14-3 in the first three overs. Khawaja tried his level best to take United close to the chase, but never find any partner to partner him long and well enough. He became the last of the three scalps of the 36-year-old. The Australian scored a 40 ball 70. Tanvir was awarded Man of the Match for this performance of his. Post his wicket, mere formalities were left which were completed by Blessing Muzarabani as he picked up three wickets as well. United were eventually bowled out for 149 in 19 overs. Earlier in the day, Multan skipper Mohammad Rizwan decided to bat after winning the toss. However, the decision wasn’t well backed by himself as an opener as he went out for a duck. Shan Masood and Maqsood then joined hands to add 53 for the second wicket before Masood too was removed. Johnson Charles then gave company to Maqsood before getting out on 41 from 21. And after the departure of Masood, the Khushdil Shah show began. Even after losing this game, Islamabad would have a shot at the Final once again when they face the winner of the first Eliminator between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings. Sultans on the other hand would now have a proper two days of rest before they would face their opponent in the Final on June 24.
PSL 2021 | Ain’t just a lower order batter; Khushdil Shah sends strong message to Multan management
Khushdil Shah of Multan Sultans hit Islamabad United’s young bowler Akif Ajved for 29 runs in the 19th over of the innings in the ongoing Qualifier between the two teams in the Pakistan Super League. The over included four consecutive sixes as well. However, what got the attention more than his shots were his words during the innings break interview. Asked about how he handles pressure and hit such straight shots, the 26-year-old replied, “Rameez Bhai, I am not just four out batsman (coming after the loss of four wickets). People think I ma just that, but I have had 8-10 centuries in the domestic circuit and I can easily bat in the middle order.” “I come in at a time when I only have tailenders to play with, so I have to look to save wickets and also hit runs at the same time,” added Khushdil, who has played handy knocks of 40 (32), 18(11) etc. in the Abu Dhabi leg of the PSL 2021. When he came to bat during this innings, the Sultans were 122-4 and soon lost established batter Sohaib Maqsood with the score at 137-5 in the 17th over. With just three overs to go and a ‘bowling all-rounder’ of some sort, Sohail Tanvir by his side, Khushdil did well to get the team to 180-5. This is also the first time in the Abu Dhabi leg that the Sultans have reached 180. Khushdil too underscored the importance of reaching 180 as he said, “This is the first time we have reached 180 and I am sure our bowlers would be able to defend it.” At the time of writing this, Khushdil words were sounding true as the Sultans bowlers managed to get three United wickets in just four overs.
PSL 2021 | MS vs PSZ: Shahnawaz Dhani, skipper Rizwan punish Peshawar
It was all too easy in the end for Multan Sultans who defeated Peshawar Zalmi in the 21st game of the Pakistan Super League 2021. The eight-wicket win with more than three overs to spare while chasing a decent total of 67 would do a world of good to the Sultans who were reeling in the bottom two ever since the tournament started. Now with the third win, which also accounts for two wins a row and no losses so far in the Abu Dhabi leg has put Mohammad Rizwan’s team right in the reckoning for the Playoffs. Shahnawaz Dhani, the fun-loving, always smiling, heavy ball bowler from Larkana in Sindh was the hero alongside the captain for Multan. He picked up his best-ever PSL figures 4-31 in four overs. That too after having been dispatched for 24 in his first two overs. The Sultans cut to the chase right from the beginning with openers Shan Masood and Rizwan teeing off without much of a look around. The duo added 45 for the first wicket in just 22 balls before Masood was removed by Mohammad Irfan. Sohaib Maqsood, who arrived at the crease started dealing in boundaries from the onset. The two added 116 in just 76 balls to kill the game. While Rizwan remained unbeaten on 82 from 56 balls, Maqsood, in a hurry to finish off the game was caught at 61 from 31 balls. With this 82, Rizwan also became the leading run-scorer in PSL 2021 with 408 runs in seven innings. However, he also offered chances but was not caught either by Shoaib Malik in the sixth over or by Imran Randhawa in the 12th. On both occasions the bower was Irfan. When he was finally caught by Iron Man Umaid Asif, it was way too late as Sultans needed just six runs and it was achieved by six from the Rizwan’s willow. The fifth bowler once again posed problems for Peshawar as Fabian Allen was taken for 39 in his four overs. Even Asif and Randhawa were costly too and so was the skipper Wahab Riaz. Speaking during the post-match presentation ceremony, Wahab said, “We didn't execute our plans well. We were 10-15 short but I still think it was a fighting total. Dew did impact the game. If we had bowled in good areas, the result would've been different.” “We don't have to think about this game, it was just a bad day at the office. What's done is done, we need to move forward,” he added. Earlier in the night, after winning the toss Sultans decided to bowl first. They would have rued this decision at the start of the innings because of the way things were going. The opening pair of Kamran Akmal and Haider Ali put on 71 runs for the Zalmi in nine overs. The Sultans were lacklustre in the field, dropping chances and misfielding at the same time. While Dhani dropped Ali when he was just on six, Rizwan let down a regulation chance off the bowling of Dhani when Akmal edged an outside off delivery. But once those mistakes were done and the powerplay was over, Sultans started to pull things back. In the ninth over Dhani struck twice to remove Akmal and Mailk in successive deliveries. In his next over, the 22-year-old ended Ali’s miserable stay at the crease in which he made 28 off 30 balls, without making any meaningful connection with the bat. Rovman Powell too was removed in the same over, putting a lot of pressure on the Zalmi batting unit. For this performance of his, Dhani was declared Man of the Match and he also became the leading wicket-taker in PSL 2021 with 13 wickets from six games. David Miller tried his best, but couldn’t do much after a bouncer from Blessing Muzarabani climbed on to him and he was caught acrobatically by Rizwan behind the stumps. At 117-5 with almost 16 overs gone, Zami were staring at a low total when Sherfane Rutherford decided to take matters in his hand. The 22-year-old Guyanaes hit 56 off 40 balls, building a 23 ball 43 run partnership with Allen. He was eventually run out, but not before he had hit four humungous sixes and two fours. Thanks to his innings the Zalmi had more than a fighting total of 166 to defend. Rizwan was happy with the win, knowing very well how important it is for him and his side to win the maximum of the remaining three games to keep aiming for a Playoff birth. “We have few things to improve on like our fielding. The pitch looked good t the time of the chase so told the batsmen that if we bat deep it'll get easier with dew coming in." Talking about his limping throughout his stay at the crease, the 29-year-old said, “There's swelling in my leg around the calf. Hopefully will recover in time.” Well, he doesn’t have much time at hand as the Sultans next play Quetta on June 16 at the very same ground of Sheikh Zayd Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Zalmi though would be Karachi Kings in the second game of the doubleheaders on June 15 itself.
Missed chances haunt Lahore as Rizwan-Maqsood guide Multan to first win of the season
The fairy tale of Mohammad Rizwan and his Midas touch continued as the skipper led Multan to their first-ever win in the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). It was actually third time lucky for the Sultans as they had lost their last two games after dominating the proceedings for the most part of the match. Sultans were equally helped by some very clumsy fielding on the part of Qalandars who dropped both Rizwan and Sohaib Maqsood in crunch situations. The biggest change this time around for the team from South Punjab was that it won the toss and chose to field first, giving its batters the chance to win the game, instead of depending on the bowlers, who failed the team twice already. Chasing a modest total of 158, the Sultans didn’t start off well as Shaheen Afridi removed Chris Lynn with a ripper that broke the woodwork behind Lynn. Joined by the last match batting hero for Sultans, James Vince, Rizwan tried to build a partnership, but Vince got carried way, getting caught at the boundary of a Samit Patel delivery. But that was the last moment of joy for the Qlanadars in the game as Maqsood settled in with the skipper and added 110 for the fourth wicket to put Qalandars out of the game. Both the batsmen took all the Qlanadars bowlers for cleaners and were generously helped by the fielders of the likes of Fakhar Zaman who either did not attempt the catch or even if did, dropped sitters. He dropped Rizwan on 55 when Sultans were only 83/2. In the very next over, Maqsood too was dropped as Patel let down a sitter at the point on the bowling of Salman Mirza. Having been given these many chances, the two batsmen made sure that there were not many hurdles in the chase. When Rizwan finally got out of 76 from 49 balls, Multan needed only 18 runs and they cruised to the target under the guidance of Maqsood, who hit his first half-century of this season. The 33-year-old remained unbeaten on 61. Earlier in the day, being put to bat first after losing the toss, Lahore were rocked by twin strikes from Multan’s Shanawaz Dhani and Carlos Brathwaite. It took a lot of time for the Qalandars to make recovery. Mohammad Hafeez and Joe Denly built the innings and added 89 runs for the fourth wicket. At the time when they were together, Lahore threatened to cross the barrier of 170. Hafeez’s run-out changed the course of the Lahore innings as from 122-4 at 16.1, they ended up getting to only 157 in the 20 overs. While Hafeez top-scored for Qalandars, hitting consecutive half-centuries (60 off 35 in this innings), Dhani, the young man from Sindh along with Brathwaite picked two wickets each. For Qalandars, Shaheen Afridi picked two wickets to get to the top of the highest wicket-takers list. Mohammad Rizwan leads the highest run-getters charts with 188 runs in three innings. With this win at the National Stadium in Karachi, Sultans have now got off the mark in the Points Table, while Lahore remain at the number one spot.
Déjà vu for Multan all over as Peshawar’s Haider Ali steals the show from Shahnawaz Dhani
Not once, but twice have Multan Sultans lost a game in the 19th over of the second innings, after dominating it for the most part. While they needed to defend 21 against Peshawar Zalmi tonight where they failed, they had also failed to defend 20 against Islamabad United on 21st February in a similar situation. The culprits on both occasions might have been different in name and deeds, but were similar in letting down the expectations of the captain and the team. Sohail Tanvir had conceded 19 in the 19th over against Islamabad to kill the game even before it went to the last over, tonight it was Shahnawaz Dhani. Dhani, a young man from Sindh was entrusted by skipper Mohammad Rizwan to defend 21 from the last two overs. It was expected that the 22-year-old who gave way just eight runs in his previous over and took two crucial wickets of dangermen Sherfane Rutherford and Tom Kohler Cadmore, would curtail the runs and leave more for senior pro, Sohail Tanvir to defend in the last over. Cadmore and Rutherford were taking the game away from Sultans with their seven ball 19 runs partnership. However, the plan turned on its head as Under-19 star Haider Ali smoked a six off the very first ball of the Dhani over to put the young fast bowler under pressure. Dhani then bowled a high bouncer, which threatened to go for four byes behind the wickets, if it wasn't for a great effort from skipper Rizwan with the gloves. Ali, who had also hit Carlos Brathwaite for 13 runs in the 18th over, transferred the responsibility of achieving the target to senior partner Shoaib Malik. Malik, 39, utilised his 20 years of experience and hit Dhani for a six over long-on off a length ball to kill the game. As if all this was not enough, Ali who came to the crease to face the last ball with four runs still required, tonked the overpitched delivery over extra cover to finish things in style with a six. The Attock born remained unbeaten on 25 off just eight balls, while Malik made 11 runs off five balls. While Ali was the show stealer, it was Cadmore who had actually made a game out of the contest for the Zalmi in the first place. The Yorkshire man scored a 32 ball 53 to keep Zalmi in the hunt, even as the required run-rate kept on mounting. He was supported well by Imam-Ul-Haq early on and then by Rutherford. Credit must also be given to Sultan fielders for missing chances in the field. While captain Rizwan missed a stumping chance when Cadmore failed to read a flipper from Shahid Afridi early on in the innings, Rilee Rossouw too let go of an easy run-out chance to dismiss the Englishman. Cadmore was awarded Man of the Match for his brilliant innings. The Zalmi started the run chase in a positive manner as Kamran Akmal counter attacked the Multan pacers and got Peshwar to a flyer. Zalmi had scored 57 in just 6.2 overs before Akmal was trapped by Usman Qadir before the wickets. Qadir turned out to be the most economical Multan bowler giving away just 29 runs in his four overs. Earlier in the evening, put into to bat after losing the toss, Sultans were given a jolt very early in their innings as Chris Lynn failed once again, getting caught in the slips off an outswinger from Mohammad Irfan. James Vince, who came to the crease after this wicket, turned out to be the game-changer for Sultans, scoring a brilliant 84 off 55 balls. He hit nine fours and three sixes in his innings. While he added 82 with Rizwan for the third wicket. Sohaib Maqsood got together with the Englishman to add another 71 off just 40 balls, helping the Multan total to reach 193 at the end of 20 overs. While Rizwan scored 41, Maqsood with the help of four fours and two sixes reached 36 in 21 balls before being removed by Saqib Mahmood. Mahmood was the pick of the bowlers for the Zalmi taking two wickets off his four overs after conceding 24 runs. This win at the National Stadium in Karachi was the first for Zalmi as the Sultans would remain winless heading into their third game on 26th February against Lahore Qalandars, who have won two in two.