Splendid Usman ton leads Multan Sultans into playoffs
Written by I Dig SportsMultan Sultans 189 for 3 (Usman 106*, Rizwan 58, Muzarabani 2-32) beat Karach Kings 169 for 7 (Malik 38, Mir 2-29) by 20 runs
The Sultans continued their dominant run, securing its sixth win in seven games. They top the standings with 12 points, while fifth-place Karachi has just two wins from six games.
The Kings never looked a threat before reaching 169 for 7 in 20 overs and losing their third straight home game. Skipper Shan Masood got clean bowled for 36 off 29 balls by the tournament's leading wicket-taker Usama Mir (2-29). Legspinner Mir stretched his wickets tally to 15. Fast bowler Mohammad Ali, who took 1 for 40, has 14.
Usman and Rizwan exploited some wayward Kings bowling, sharing a second-wicket stand of 148 off 93 balls. Rizwan was caught at mid-off soon after completing his half-century before Usman reached his ton with a pulled six against Mir Hamza in the last over.
The Kings' overseas signings Tim Seifert (1) and James Vince (7) fell inside the batting powerplay.
Shoaib Malik top-scored for his team with 38 before holing out at long off in the 12th over and the Kings had plenty of soft dismissals in the run-chase.