Usman Khan's Century Drives Multan Sultans into the Playoffs

Muhammad Waqas

Multan Sultans: 189/3 (20) | Usman 106*(59), Rizwan 58(44) | Muzarabani 2/32, Hasan 1/34 

Karachi Kings: 169/7 (20) | Shoaib 38(28), Masood 36(29) | Usama 2/29, Khushdil 1/16

Table-topping Multan Sultans add to Karachi Kings’ home ground frustrations in Pakistan Super League, season 9. 

Usman Khan hit an unbeaten 106 runs off 59 balls

Opting to bat first, Multan Sultans’ decision proved instrumental as they posted a challenging total of 189/3. Reeza Hendricks fell early to Blessing Muzarabani, but Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Khan managed a brilliant partnership of 148 runs, breaking the previous record of 133 runs set by Kevin Pietersen and Ahmed Shehzad for the highest second wicket stand. 

Usman hit his second hundred in Pakistan Super League, scoring an unbeaten 106 runs off 59 balls, ably supported by Mohammad Rizwan. Rizwan scored his 63^rd T20 half-century, scoring 58 runs off 44 deliveries, before being dismissed by Muzarabani.

Despite Iftikhar Ahmed’s departure for just 4 runs, Multan Sultans found the finishing touch they were seeking, thanks to Usman Khan.

Blessing Muzarabani led the Kings’ bowling attack by finishing with the figures 2/32 (4), while Hasan Ali removed one batter.

In pursuit of 190, Karachi Kings suffered an early setback with the run-out of Tim Siefert in the second over. Karachi was trying to stabilize, but faced another blow when James Vince fell to Chris Jordan, leaving Kings struggling at 28/2 after 3.2 overs. However, Karachi showed resilience through captain Shan Masood and Shoaib Malik’s partnership.

Nevertheless, the Kings’ progress was restricted by Usama Mir, who clean bowled Shan Masood after scoring 36 off 29. The wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals. Shoaib Malik departed after scoring 38 off 28 in the 12^th over. Subsequently, Leus du Plooy fell on the last ball of the 13^th over, followed by Irfan Khan’s innings cut short in the 17^th over.

Despite Mohammad Nawaz’s unbeaten 27 off 17 and Hasan Ali’s 17 off 8, Karachi Kings could only manage 169/7, falling 20 runs short. They faced third consecutive defeat, having 4 points on the table after playing 6 games.  

For Multan Sultans, Usama Mir took two wickets for 29 runs, while David Willey, Chris Jordan, Khushdil Shah, and Mohammad Ali dismissed a batter each.

Usman Khan’s magnificent century earned him the Player of the Match award.