In a surprising turn of events, Multan Sultans strategically handled a challenge in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL 9) season nine match against Lahore Qalandars, fielding only two overseas players instead of the required three. The move was necessitated by injuries to key foreign players, and Multan sought and obtained approval from the PCB event technical committee to make this adjustment.
According to PSL regulations, a minimum of three foreign players should be in the playing XI. However, due to niggles, English players Dawid Malan, David Willey, and Chris Jordan were unavailable for selection. Despite this setback, Multan Sultans, with only South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks and UAE’s Usman Khan as overseas players, secured approval to proceed with the revised lineup.
The adjusted playing XI featured Mohammad Rizwan (w/c), Usman Khan, Reeza Hendricks, Tayyab Tahir, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Usama Mir, Aftab Ibrahim, Faisal Akram, Mohammad Ali, and Shahnawaz Dahani.
Notably, Usman Khan played a commanding innings of 96 runs, contributing significantly to Multan’s massive total of 214-4 against Lahore.
In their first away match of PSL 9, Multan chose to bat first. Despite an early breakthrough by Lahore’s captain Shaheen Afridi, Multan made a swift comeback with a noteworthy 70-run partnership between Reeza Hendricks and Usman Khan. Hendricks scored a brisk 40, featuring seven boundaries, before being removed by Sikandar Raza.
Usman Khan continued his aggressive play, forming a dominant partnership with Tayyab Tahir, accumulating 77 runs in just 40 balls for the third wicket. Iftikhar Ahmed joined Khan and added to the havoc with an unbeaten cameo of 40 runs from 18 balls.
Usman Khan, scoring 96 runs from 55 balls, showcased a remarkable innings adorned with boundaries and sixes. Multan Sultans concluded their innings at 214-4 in the allotted 20 overs.
In response, Lahore Qalandars faced a challenging task, and despite captain Shaheen Afridi leading the bowling attack with figures of 2-39, Multan’s commanding performance has set a formidable target. The strategic decision to navigate the overseas player crisis has indeed paid off for Multan Sultans in this high-stakes encounter.
Read more: https://flare.pk/2024/02/psl-9-mohammad-hafeez-imad-wasim-performance/
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