Mitchell, Sikander Heroics Help Qalandars Beats Multan Sultans

LAHORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Apr, 2025) Daryl Mitchell and Sikandar Raza played from their skins to overhaul a competitive total of 185 for Lahore Qalandars against Multan Sultans and win by five wickets in the PSL X at the Gaddafi stadium here on Saturday night.

Mitchell 64 (38) and Sikandar 40 (21) not out minted 89 runs off 41 balls to take Lahore Qalandars to victory in their 100th match in the PSL history and also pushed their team to second position with six points at the points table due to a superior run-rate than Karachi Kings who have as many points from five matches.

Sikandar Raza’s promotion in batting order proved fruitful for the Qalandars as he took the match away from Sultans through a cameo of 40 runs off 21 balls which included two boundaries and two towering 6s. Daryl Mitchell also played an aggressive knock of 64 with four boundaries and as many 6s.

Daryl Mitchell was adjudged player of the match for his all-round performance in the match.

Mohammad Rizwan, in a post-match talk with Ramiz Raja, had admitted that the team failures to get breakthroughs in the middle of innings besides poor fielding contributed had contributed to the loss and team’s current position as Multan Sultans languish at the bottom of the table with two points in six matches.

Ubaid Shah, who seems to have come of age this PSL X, was the most successful bowler for the Sultans and picked a brace for 34 runs in four overs. He impressed with his pace and length in the match. The other trio of the Hasnain, Akif Javed and Josh Little picked one wicket each for 30, 44 and 43 runs respectively while Bracewell conceded 33 runs off his three overs.

Earlier, Multan Sultans had a slow start to their innings after Shaheen Shah Afridi won the toss and invited the Sultans to bat first on a pitch that did not help shot-making in the first half of the innings but it was the experienced duo of captain Mohammad Rizwan and Ghulam Ali who stitched an unbroken partnership of 115 runs in 59 balls and led the Sultans to a respectable total of 185-3 in 20 overs.

Mohammad Rizwan hit an unbeaten 76 0ff 48 balls which included six boundaries and three 6s while Ghulam Ali scored a scintillating unbeaten 52 off 31 balls laced with two boundaries and four 6s. Ghulam Ali was more aggressive of two and came to the crease in the 11th over after Shai Hope fell for 9 (9) off a Tom Curran slower ball. Ghulam Ali took special liking to Haris Rauf and Daryl Mitchel as he hit four 6s in his quickfire knock.

Opener Yasir Khan 24 (18) looked to carry his good form but succumbed to temptation of yet another six off Haris Rauf after he took two boundaries and a six off in fifth over of the innings with team total at 30-1. Usman Khan 18 (14) also fell early in pursuit of quick runs in the eighth over of the Sultans’ innings.

Captain Muhammad Rizwan and Ghulam Ali turn the tide in favor of the Sultans and took the team to a competitive total by the close of innings. Sikander Raza and Asif Afridi bowled four wicketless overs between them and conceded 20 and 22 runs respectively.

Bowlers did good containment job for the Qalandars with captain Shaheen Shah Afridi and Tom Curran being the most economical for their team. Tom Curran was the most economical bowler for the Qalandars who claimed a wicket for 24 runs in four overs while Shaheen Shah Afridi also bowled frugally and conceded 25 runs off four overs but remained wicketless. Haris Rauf and Daryl Mitchell grabbed one scalp each but both were expensive as they leaked 46 and 47 runs respectively in their quota of four overs each.

Captain Shaheen, in the presentation ceremony, praised Tom Curran for his brave bowling on a pitch which did not help the bowlers.