A rollicking innings from Usman Khan (96 off 55) followed by Usama Mir's six-wicket haul helped Multan Sultans to register a crushing 60-run win over Lahore Qalandars in Lahore on Tuesday (February 27). Usman's innings along with handy contributions from Reeza Hendricks (40 off 27) and Iftikhar Ahmed (40* off 18) allowed Multan to post a daunting total of 214 on the board. Desperate to sign off the Lahore leg with a win, the home side needed a special performance to make a game of this target but it wasn't to be. After a decent start from the top three, the innings imploded during the middle overs to get bowled out with three overs to spare, thereby extending Lahore's winless streak this season to six games.
Earlier in the evening, the game had started with optimism for the defending champions as skipper Shaheen Afridi castled his counterpart Mohammad Rizwan in the first over of the game. However, that was among the negligible moments of joy that Lahore would experience through the course of the game. Usman, slotting in at no.3, got into the act straight away as he plundered boundaries at will through the powerplay. Hendricks was content to play second fiddle as the pair added 70 off just 46 balls to infuse momentum into the innings. Hendricks fell to a soft dismissal against Sikandar Raza but Usman continued to prosper.
The right-hander was severe against pace and spin alike, using his powerful wrists and strong bottom hand to destroy the Lahore bowlers. Tayyab Tahir gave Usman company, playing the support act in their 77-run stand that set the base for Iftikhar's fireworks later on. Lahore's bowling that was already missing Rashid Khan prior to the tournament, sorely missed Haris Rauf who had been recently ruled out of the tournament with a shoulder dislocation. The hosts' attack lacked consistency and there were plenty of boundary balls on offer. Usman and Iftikhar cashed in at the back end, although the former was unlucky to miss out on a deserving ton.
Fakhar Zaman had to deliver for the reigning champions to make a fist of things. He along with the in-form Sahibzada Farhan started the chase off in neat fashion, registering a fifty partnership inside the powerplay. Just when it seemed like Lahore were starting to gain some impetus, Fakhar once again fell to a slog this season, this time castled by the ever impressive Mohammad Ali. It didn't take Multan long to strike again as Farhan fell to Khushdil Shah in the very next over. The momentum of the innings started to stagnate and while the likes of Rassie van der Dussen and Raza played a few shots, both looked unsettled out there.
Raza's dismissal in the 12th over was the start of a massive implosion in which the Qalandars lost five wickets for just 25 runs in the space of 23 deliveries. Wrist spinner Faisal Akram got rid of Raza before Mir got into the act. The right arm leg-spinner started by getting rid of Afridi who had promoted himself to have a go at the wrist spin duo, only to be stumped. Van der Dussen soon departed and it shortly became a procession with Mir picking up three wickets in his third over, the 15th of the innings. Carlos Brathwaite found the fence a couple of times before Mir returned to wipe off the last two wickets in his final over.
Brief scores: Multan Sultans 214/4 in 20 overs (Usman Khan 96, Iftikhar Ahmed 40*, Reeza Hendricks 40; Shaheen Afridi 2-39) beat Lahore Qalandars 154 in 17 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 31; Usama Mir 6-40, Faisal Akram 2-25) by 60 runs
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