LAHORE (Dunya News) - A composed half-century from Steven Smith powered Multan Sultans to a convincing six-wicket win over Quetta Gladiators in the 13th match of Pakistan Super League Season 11 at Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
Chasing a target of 167, the Sultans made light work of the total, reaching the finish line with 15 balls remaining and four wickets in hand.
Their innings was built on an explosive start, as Sahibzada Farhan and Smith combined for a rapid 71-run opening stand in just five overs.
Farhan set the tone with 32 off 14 balls, featuring four boundaries and two sixes, before being dismissed by Alzarri Joseph.
The Sultans soon lost Josh Philippe as well, who contributed 18, falling to Saud Shakeel.
With the score at 96/2, Shan Masood joined Smith, and the pair added a steady 40 runs to bring the target within reach.
Smith, who top-scored with a fluent 53 off 35 deliveries, was eventually dismissed by Hasan Nawaz in the 14th over.
Nawaz struck again shortly after, removing Arafat Minhas for six, but the breakthrough came too late to change the course of the match.
Masood anchored the chase with an unbeaten 46 off 30 balls, hitting two fours and two sixes to guide his side home in the 18th over.
For the Gladiators, Hasan Nawaz was the standout bowler with figures of 2 for 17, while Joseph and Shakeel picked up one wicket each, but their efforts were not enough to prevent another defeat.
Earlier, Quetta Gladiators set a target of 167 runs for Multan Sultans after winning the toss and opting to bat first.
For Quetta Gladiators, Khawaja Nafees scored 12, Shaamil Hussian 2, Saud Shakeel 56, Byron Jacob 49, and Hasan Nawaz 20. Saud Shakeel was the standout performer, hitting 56 runs off 41 balls, including 1 six and 6 fours.
The Gladiators finished their 20 overs at 166 for 7 wickets.
For Multan Sultans, Muhammad Nawaz took 3 wickets, Ashton Turner claimed 1, and Arfat Minhas took 2 wickets.