Qais Ahmed flays Anwar Ali for a six over square leg's left and brings the defeat margin to 9 runs. Another run-fest and once again Rawalpindi proved to be a delight for the batters but it is Multan Sultans who prevailed over Quetta Gladiators. Phenomenal performance from both these teams! 515 runs scored tonight which is the highest match aggregate in T20 history
Sultans vs Gladiators, 28th Match at Rawalpindi, PSL 2023, Mar 11 2023 - Ball by Ball Commentary
Jason Roy got out early in the piece but that didn't deflate Quetta's spirits as they went after every bowler on this featherbed of a surface. Omair Yousuf got 67 off 36 while Martin Guptill raced to 37 off 14 balls. Iftikhar Ahmed kept them on course with a quickfire half-century and then Umar Akmal kept Quetta in the hunt with some spectacular stroke play but Abbas Afridi managed to keep them quiet in the last few overs and picked the first hat-trick of this edition. Earlier, the move to include Usman Khan in the playing XI paid rich dividends for Sultans, he didn't spare any bowler and clonked 12 fours and nine sixes in his 120-run rampage and also made the record of scoring fastest ever PSL hundred. On the other hand, Mohammad Rizwan acted as the fulcrum of the batting line-up and others batted around him. The Sultans' skipper scored a brisk half-century to set the platform for Tim David and Kieron Pollard to tee off in the final overs. Until the next one, this is Rvel Zahid waving goodbye
Mohammad Nawaz: "We made mistakes in the fielding which didn't help out cause. You can't make same mistakes in every game. I think we struggled due to our fielding. We were happy with our picks in the draft and I think we had a very balanced team but it's just that we couldn't pick up the momentum in the tournament. In modern-day cricket, you cannot win games if fielding doesn't support bowlers. We will sit and plan for the next edition and work on our shortcomings."
Ihsanullah: "We have a family-like atmosphere in our team. I did not do well in the last two games, but Abbas did and we won. My plan is to bowl fast. We have no competition amongst ourselves, we are brothers.
Mohammad Rizwan: "Honestly, we cannot find any mistakes due to the pitch. It's difficult for the bowlers as well. Hopefully we will execute the same way in the playoffs and win. We struggled as three of our main pacers - Dahani, Josh Little and Wayne Parnell were not available before the tournament and whatever we had available we trusted in them. The way Abbas Afridi and Usama Mir bowled is so good to see. Usman Khan I saw in the BPL and even in the T10 format, the pitch demanded a player like him tonight.
Abbas Afridi, Player of the Match: "When we started practice tonight, I told Sikander Bakht that I'm coming to collect the trophy. I used the slower ball and yorker to get wickets tonight. Our management is very helpful, especially Rizwan and the other senior players."
Vinay: "MS would be happy they sneak off a victory from the jaws of defeat. If abbas had not taken 3 wkts in 3 balls, match would have been in Quetta's bag.."
Mohit: "Chasing 263 and game is still alive till the last 3 balls to be bowled. Who could have thought."
Afeef: "A hat-trick in these conditions is precious "
Shahid: "It's a third time Abbas Afridi has taken 4 wickets in a match in PSL 8. And now he now has 21 wickets to Ihsanullah's 20. Well done boy. " One of the finds of the tournament.
Ali Ch: "This must be great fun for the young ones but for old school purists like myself, the imbalance between bat and ball is disappointing. I hope the PCB prepares better pitches for PSL9."
Yasser saleem: "Inconsistency by kk and qg have let them down again. Qg have not qualified for playoffs since they won in 2019 (the last 4 seasons). Being a PZ supporter glad to see them qualified for 8th time (congratulations)"
Steers it away to point who can't pick it up cleanly and they wind up getting a run
Rossouw plops it at cover, pitched up on off, he got himself in an awkward position, throwing his hands at it and playing away from his body, swinging Anwar high into the Rawalpindi sky, fielder got underneath but it just burst out of his hands
Gets down low to it in a bid to scoop it past fine leg, lost the sight of the ball in the air and hence there is no solid connection, fine leg cuts it off , three sixes required
Almost a carbon copy of the previous delivery, lands it on seventh stump line, he gets a thick inside edge and it races away to fine leg boundary, record number runs have been scored in this T20
Fires in a wide yorker, he gets down to low it and lifts it aerially but cannot generate power inot the shot and it just lands short of the fielder at extra cover, Anwar is sticking to his plan and is looking to bowl wide yorkers, keeping it away from his swinging arc
Round the wicket, aiming for a yorker but he read his mind early, drills it down the ground with disdain and away it trickles to the boundary between long on and long off, Anwar was too far away that tramline and it's a no ball, 24 off 6 required
A yorker right into the blockhole on sixth stump, he digs it out to deep cover-point and another fine spell from Abbas Afridi, Umar Gul's nephew, comes to an end.
Tries to play a cheeky shot past fine leg, can't get a solid connection as the ball caroms to fine leg
Springs down the track and smites him through extra cover for another elegant boundary
Goes for the yorker, shoveled away to midwicket, they run hard and get the second run
Overpitched and room on offer, he holds his stance and smokes it over extra cover and it skittles away to the rope
Slow ball on a fuller length, lands it outside leg stump, wide called
Afridi on a hattrick and he gets it! That's the first PSL 8 hattrick and the young tearaway quick richly deserved it, spears in a supernova on a hard length and induces a false shot, it's a massive wicket, Akmal was looking threatening. Tim David takes a sprawling catch at long-off
Misses the yorker by a mere inches and gets drilled down the ground for a blistering boundary, bisects long-on and long-off with surgical precision. 42 off two overs needed
Flail and a miss! A hooping delivery on an unimpeachable line, he gives his all and puts a lot of effort behind the delivery, he goes for the pull but can't connect
Goes deep in his crease and powerfully knocks it down the ground into the acreage at midwicket for a run
A tocuh shorter and angled in from outside off, pace off the ball and he goes for the pull again, not timed well on this occasion and will have to settle for a single
Akmal continues to use his bat like a swinging door! Thrases it meriily through the line and it skittles away to midwicket boundary. Such a joy to watch when he is in full flow
Short of a length, kicking and screaming off the deck outside off, Akmal goes for the full-blooded pull, gets a top edge and it just goes beyond Rizwan's glove
Over 20 • QG 253/8
Sultans won by 9 runs