HBL PSLV: Kings Vs Sultans Match Abandoned Due To Rain

The Karachi Kings had reduced Multan Sultans to a meager total and sniffed victory in the 19th match of the HBL PSL V before the skies poured down and the match was abandoned at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Friday

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Mar, 2020 ):The Karachi Kings had reduced Multan Sultans to a meager total and sniffed victory in the 19th match of the HBL PSL V before the skies poured down and the match was abandoned at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Friday.

Both the teams will share one point each. The Karachi Kings were strongly placed by the time rain arrived at the Gaddafi Stadium. The no-result ensured that the Multan Sultans would retain their table leaders status with 9 points while Karachi Kings are clear off the Quetta Gladiators with 7 points to maintain their fourth spot due to an inferior run rate in the HBL PSL V although Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi also have secured 7 points but they enjoy second and third place in the tournament owing to superior run rate.

The rain had stayed away the whole afternoon although it rained persistently during the morning and the ground staff had prepared the ground quite well for a showdown between the Kings and the Sultans. The Kings had tightened the noose on Sultans after they reduced them to 102-6 in 16.5 overs.

Karachi Kings bowlers made excellent use of the conditions as Mohammad Amir and Aamer Yamin shared three early wickets between them while the spinners Imad Wasim, Umer Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed cast a wizardly spell on the batsmen and picked another three wickets to render Sultan's bating line up ineffective.

Moeen Ali in the beginning of the Sultans innings showed some spark and purpose but his departure proved a death knell for the Southern Punjab team. It was in the latter half of the Sultans' batting that Shahid Afridi brought some respectability to his team total with the help of Sohail Tanvir.

Shahid Khan Afridi, like a far-sighted old sea captain who had weathered many a storm during his heydays, guided the Multan Sultans' ship out of the troubled waters and led them to peaceful horizons after Sultans batting collapsed and gave them a respectable total of 16.5 overs before the skies poured down to save the day for the Sultans.

Shahid Afridi scored 35 not out while Sohail Tanvir was unbeaten on 10 when the play was stopped due to light drizzle which continued until the field was turned soggy and the match, resultantly, called-off.

Imad Wasim's decision to field first under cloudy sky in their match against Multan Sultans bore immediate rewards as half of the batting line-up was back in the dugout by the eleventh over of the match.

Multan Sultans batsmen were themselves to blame for a lack-luster performance as most of the batsmen threw away their wickets through poor shot selection. Multan Sultans, somewhat, were comfortably placed at the close of power play with 41-2 but they lost their way in the next five overs as Shan Masood, Ravi Bopara and Rille Roussouw and Khushdil Shah fell due to some deft spin bowling by captain Imad Wasim and Umer Khan and Aamir Yamin. Part-time off spinner Iftikhar Ahmed got good spin from the pitch which Mohammad Amir and Aamir Yamin were miserly in their three overs each and conceded 15 and 17 runs respectively.

Following is the Score-board between Multan Sultans and Karachi Kings: Multan Sultans innings: Moeen Ali c Jordan b Aamer Yamin 28 (22) Zeeshan Ashraf (wk) c Jordan b Mohammad Amir 2 (8) Shan Masood (c) b Imad Wasim 9 (17) Rilee Rossouw c Walton (wk) b Aamer Yamin 0 (1) Ravi Bopara c Walton (wk) b Imad Wasim 4 (2) Khushdil Shah c Jordan b Umer Khan 8 (16) Shahid Afridi not out 35 (17) Sohail Tanvir not out 10 (18) Extras: 5 (lb,w1) Total: 102 (for six wkts; 16.5 overs) Did not bat: Mohammad Ilyas, Imran Tahir, Mohammad Irfan Fall of wickets: 1-17 (Zeeshan Ashraf), 2-37 (Moeen Ali), 3-37 (Rilee Rossouw), 4-42 (Ravi Bopara), 5-53 Shan Masood 6-64 (Khushdil Shah) Bowling: Mohammad Amir 2.5-0-15-1, Aamer Yamin 3-0-17-2, CJ Jordan 1-0-9-0, Imad Wasim 4-0-14-2, Umer Khan 3-0-22-1, MJ McClenaghan 1-0-14-0 Karachi Kings: Sharjeel Khan Babar Azam Alex Hales Chadwick Walton (wk) Iftikhar Ahmed Imad Wasim (c) Aamer Yamin Chris Jordan Michael McClenaghan Mohammad Amir Umer Khan Result: Match abandoned Toss: Karachi Kings who elected to field first Umpires: Shozab Raza (Pak) and Michael Gough (Eng) Tv Umpire: Asif Yaqoob (Pak) Reserve Umpire: Nasir Hussain Match referee: Aziz ur Rehman