MULTAN: Multan Sultans have named a replacement for their premium pacer Ihsanullah for the remaining 9 matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season as the league enters its crucial phase. Ali Majid Shah replaces Ihsanullah, who is recovering from an elbow injury after surgery in September 2023. Note that the 21-year-old bowled in the nets but was not declared fit for the match by the team’s medical staff and will therefore be unavailable for the remainder of PSL 9.
Ihsanullah was the second highest run-scorer in PSL 8 where the Multan speedster bagged 22 wickets in 13 matches. Multan Sultans currently occupy the top position in the PSL table 9 points with eight points from five matches and 0.78 net run rate (NRR). They are closely followed by Quetta Gladiators who are second with six points from four matches and 0.34 NRR. Sultans had earlier ended Quetta’s three-match winning streak by handing them a 13-run defeat in the 11th match of PSL 9.
Mohammad Rizwan’s men successfully defended the 181-run target thanks to their accuracy with the ball as the Gladiators’ batsmen failed to hurt their opponents. Chasing the target, the Gladiators got off to a slow start as they could only score 8 runs in the first two overs against Mohammad Ali and David Willey. Jason Roy fell to Ali in the third over, Saud Shakeel followed soon after losing the wicket of Willey in the sixth over, leaving his side 42-2. After losing two wickets, captain Rilee Rossouw and youngster Khawaja Nafay held their nerve to put on a 60-run partnership.
The pursuit was led by the gladiators, but Rossouw’s unexpected release turned the tide in favor of the sultans. Wickets kept falling and the visiting side could score only 167 runs in the allotted overs, Batting first, Sultans started with a bang as opener Usman Khan smashed three boundaries off Akeal Hosein to end the first over 14/0. However, the right-handed batsman was removed by mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed in the third over after scoring 14 runs. Rizwan built a crucial 79-run partnership with Hendricks, during which he also completed his half-century.
The Sultans captain then retired to the pavilion after contributing 51 runs in 42 balls courtesy of six boundaries. After Rizwan’s dismissal, Quetta seemed to be in complete control of the match as they restricted Sultans to 122-2 in 16 overs. However, Hendricks and Tahir changed the course of the match for the home side as the two scored 58 runs together in the last four overs to take them to a competitive total. Hendricks departed in the last match after scoring 72 runs off 47 balls while Tahir remained unbeaten on 35 off 22.
