PSL 2020: Multan Sultans beat Islamabad United by 9 wickets

Man-of-the-match James Vince produced a dazzling display of power-hitting with an unbeaten 61

RAWALPINDI (Dunya News) – Multan Sultans became the first team to ensure qualification in the Pakistan Super League 2020 as they thumped Islamabad United in a rain reduced nine-over match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium as on Sunday.

The nine wicket victory further consolidated Sultans’ stay at the top of the PSL 2020 points table. They now have 11 points after seven games (five wins, one no-result, one loss) and are guaranteed a place in the play-offs which will feature the top-four teams at the end of the group stage.

Man-of-the-match James Vince produced a dazzling display of power-hitting with an unbeaten 61 off 24 balls (11 fours, one six) to ensure a comfortable win for Sultans with 14 balls to spare. Vince added 68 runs for the first wicket with Zeeshan Ashraf (16) and finished the game off in Moeen Ali’s ( 14 not out, five balls, three fours) company after Zeeshan was dismissed by Shadab.

Playing first, Islamabad scored 91 runs for 7 wickets in 9 overs. Colin Munro was the highest scorer of United side as he scored 25 runs in 12 balls. Junaid Khan and Imran Tahir of Multan side took 2 wickets apiece.

For the Sultans, Junaid Khan and Imran Tahir picked two wickets each, with English all rounder Moeen Ali likewise taking a wicket.

Earlier, Multan Sultans had won the toss and chose to field first against Islamabad United.

The rain-affected match had been restricted to nine overs for each team. So far, four matches of the Pakistan Super League have been affected due to the weather with one game being completely being washed out.

Squad

Islamabad United: L Ronchi, C Munro, Rizwan Hussain, Shadab Khan, CA Ingram, Asif Ali, Muhammad Musa, Amad Butt, Akif Javed, DW Steyn, Rumman Raees

Multan Sultans: MM Ali, Zeeshan Ashraf†, Shan Masood*, RR Rossouw, JM Vince, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Ilyas, Imran Tahir, Junaid Khan