KARACHI: Multan Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan has played out after his team lost the Pakistan Super League (PSL) round of 16 by two wickets against Islamabad United in Karachi on Monday.
Islamabad won their third PSL title after winning in 2016 and 2018 to become the most successful team in the history of the tournament.
“If the match goes down to the last ball, you can’t really point to any mistake. Credit goes to Imad for picking the whistle and scoring those crucial runs,” said Rizwan.
“When you have momentum then you want to keep playing, but the gap [after qualification] breaks the momentum, it’s not an excuse, but we can say that [Islamabad] played really well.
“I am not completely satisfied with my batting, I am always available to bat in any position for Pakistan.
“Congratulations Islamabad and it was fun playing in front of a packed house tonight.
The thriller was decided on the last ball when Hunain Shah came into bat with one run required off the last ball. The youngster smartly identified the gap in point and hit the ball for four.
Also read: Imad says he can play for 4-5 more years
Earlier, Sultans posted 159-9 in their 20 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat.
A 40-ball 57 from Usman Khan and 26 from skipper Mohammad Rizwan led the way for Sultans.
However, the Sultans lost five wickets for just 13 runs and slipped to 127-9.
Left-arm spinner Imad Wasim played with figures of 5-23 while Naseem took 3-32.
Iftikhar Ahmed brought Multan back into the game with a blistering 20-ball 32, not out with three sixes and as many fours, scoring 31 in the last two overs.
United also lost their way as they slipped from 121-4 to 129-7, but Wasim held his nerve with the tail and scored a 17-ball 19 to help them cross the finish line.
Martin Guptill top-scored for the champions with a 32-ball 50 with three sixes and four boundaries. Azam Khan scored a 22-ball 30 with boundaries of six and four.
