Miller’s onslaught, Afridi’s four-fer helps Sultans beat Islamabad United
David Miller plays a shot during his 52 (PCB)
Multan Sultans catered themselves to their third straight win this PSL 2023 season. Marshalled by Pakistan veteran Mohammad Rizwan, they flattened out the Islamabad United by 52 runs in Multan.
David Miller and young pacer Abbas Afridi were the stars of the show, with the latter of the two even winning the ‘Player of the Match’ award for his sublime three-over spell.
Rizwan, Miller pack fifties to power Sultans to 190
Captain and opener Mohammad Rizwan anchored the Multan Sultans innings with a crafty 50 after losing partner Shan Masood within the first over of the match. The cricketer formed a 91-run stand with Rilee Rossouw, following which the two departed back to the pavilion in successive overs.
The foundation laid out by Rizwan and Rossouw prompted international T20 heavyweights David Miller and Kieron Pollard to go berserk at the death. While the South African batter clubbed a six-laden 25-ball 52, the former West Indian skipper hammered down a 21-ball 32* to extend Sultans’ total to 190.
Pollard finishes off with three boundaries
Abbas Afridi rattles United after Ilyas’ early strikes
Islamabad United lost prolific T20 opener Paul Stirling cheaply before Hassan Nawaz failed to capitalise on his confident start. The two batters were removed by pacer Mohammad Ilyas off the first two overs of his opening spell.
Their South African import Rassie van der Dussen provided some comfort in their run-chase with a brisk 49, assisted by another international star Colin Munro (31). As it turned out, they marked the biggest contributions of the United innings as the rest of the batting line-up crumbled under pressure in the death overs.
Ihsanullah and Usama Mir claimed two wickets apiece for the Sultans, while young and rising speedster Abbas Afridi snared a four-fer off just three overs.
The win marked Sultans’ third of the tournament, as they comfortably occupy the top spot on the PSL 2023 points table.
Brief scores:
Multan Sultans: 190-4 (20)
David Miller 52 (25), Mohammad Rizwan 50 (38);
Rumman Raees 1-25, Tom Curran 1-32
Islamabad United: 138 (17.5)
Rassie van der Dussen 49 (32), Colin Munro 31 (23);
Abbas Afridi 4-22, Mohammad Ilyas 2-12
Multan Sultans won by 52 runs
 "Aakash Saini")
