Rilee Rossouw and Muhammad Rizwan both scored half centuries as Multan Sultans defeated Peshawar Zalmi by 56 runs. While Rossouw, who had a terrible SA20, is back to the fantastic best he seems to find every year at the PSL, Zalmi were punished for fielding sloppiness.
The Sultans’ 210, the highest total in the PSL this year, was aided by a 36-ball 75, which included a 75-run partnership in 35 balls with another South African, David Miller.
Throughout the first half of the chase, Zalmi gave a strong response, especially during an explosive partnership between Mohammad Haris and Saim Ayub, but they kept losing wickets in waves and ultimately fell far short.
Zalmi had won the toss and chosen to field, but Muhammad Rizwan made sure they couldn’t put any pressure even if they managed to keep Shan Masood reasonably quiet during the Powerplay.
As Masood, who was having difficulty maintaining fluency in a poor 25-ball 20, was pinched down the leg, Rossouw appeared and provided an immediate boost. He continued where he had left off from 48 hours earlier against the Quetta Gladiators, and between the ninth and the 18th over, both of them saw at least two boundaries hit.
149 runs were scored in the final 12 overs, and while Rizwan and Miller provided more than proper support, Rossouw batted as if he didn’t need any assistance at all. Even though many misfields didn’t help the Zalmi cause, no bowler was saved.
By the end, Wahab Riaz’s worst characteristics were also on display; he overstepped twice in the 20th over and gave up 19 runs as a result.
Ihsanullah, the Sultans’ golden kid who was removed with the first ball by Zalmi’s exciting hitter Babar Azam, fell early.
It opened the door for two of Pakistan’s most promising T20 batting prospects to form an incredibly entertaining combo. Haris resembled Imran Nazir in every way as he struggled to keep up with the demand rate.
Ayub’s shooting feels a little more classical, but it’s still really damaging. When Sultans gave them pace on the ball, the pair ripped them to shreds; at the conclusion of the eighth over, they had scored 20 runs more than the Sultans had.
Rossouw’s consistent power, though, is hard to duplicate, and the turning point occurred in the ninth over. The PSL fielding has been poor so far this season, but Abbas Afridi’s brilliant stop and direct hit forced Haris out at the non-striker’s end.
The Sultans never again handed control after it. As Tom Kohler-Cadmore cheaply holed out, Ayub and Rovman Powell restored hopes with a barrage of fours and sixes, but five wickets in 16 balls ended the game for good. The final seven wickets were lost for 24 runs as a result of the extra runs that a weak bowling attack provided.
Ihsanullah, who had already taken the first wicket, was perfectly placed to take both ends of the wickets column. He followed up his extraordinary performance on Wednesday with statistics of 3 for 24, taking the early lead in the PSL wicket-takers list. He also assisted in the Sultans’ second victory, which gave their net run rate a welcome lift.