PSL 2023: Usman Khan goes berserk, Quetta crash out

The Multan Sultans have triumphed in a stunning victory over the Quetta Gladiators, effectively eliminating them from the running for the playoffs in the ongoing Pakistan Super League season eight.

This epic match-up took place in Rawalpindi on Saturday, with Multan securing their spot in the playoffs alongside Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United, and Peshawar Zalmi.

In a toss that had Quetta bowling first, Mohammad Nawaz led the Gladiators in the absence of Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was still recovering from a finger injury.

Despite the absence of Sarfaraz Ahmed, the team still had a chance to qualify for the playoffs.

They needed to win their last league stage match against Multan by a big margin, but Multan’s performance made it clear that it was not going to be their day.

Multan’s opener Usman Khan was the star of the show, scoring the fastest hundred in PSL history in just 36 balls.

Usman was relentless against a weakened Quetta bowling attack, with frontline fast bowlers Nasim Shah and Mohammad Hasnain both sidelined by injuries.

He went on to punish Afghanistan leg-spinner Qais Ahmed with six sixes and four boundaries in just two overs, and with a slap shot over the third-man fielder in the ninth over, Usman raised his hundred.

Usman broke teammate Rilee Rossouw’s record of fastest ton in 41 balls, which was set in yesterday’s match between Multan and Peshawar Zalmi.

Rossouw had scored 120 runs in 43 balls with the help of 12 fours and nine sixes.

Meanwhile, the record for the highest total was previously held by Islamabad United — who scored 247-2 against Peshawar in 2021.

Multan’s final score of 262-3 set a new record for the highest total in the history of the PSL tournament.

Quetta’s spinner Qais Ahmed conceded 77 runs in four overs, which is the most expensive bowling in the history of PSL.

This is also jointly the third most expensive bowling in the history of T20 cricket.

Despite losing Jason Roy, Martin Guptill, and Mohammad Hafeez within the powerplay, Quetta challenged the tall target set by Multan.

They were able to put up a good fight, with fifties by Omair Yousuf (67 off 36) and Iftikhar Ahmed (53 off 31).

However, their efforts fell short, and they were unable to secure a win.

Chasing a huge target of 263 runs, Quetta was restricted to 253-8 in 20 overs.

For the winning side, pacer Abbas Afridi bagged figures of 5-47 in four overs, which included a hat-trick.

The 515 runs scored in this game is the highest ever match aggregate in T20 history, a format that has seen over 12,000 matches.

Multan’s victory not only secured their spot in the playoffs, but it also ensured that Peshawar Zalmi booked their spot in the knockout stage.

On the other hand, Quetta and Karachi Kings failed to qualify for the playoffs, just like last year.

Multan Sultans’ playing 11 included Usman Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk/c), Rilee Rossouw, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Izharulhaq Naveed, and Ihsanullah.

Quetta Gladiators’ playing 11 included Jason Roy, Martin Guptill, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Hafeez, Iftikhar Ahmed, Umar Akmal (wk), Mohammad Nawaz (c), Qais Ahmad, Umaid Asif, Naveen-ul-Haq, and Aimal Khan.

Multan Sultans 262 for 3 (Usman 120, Rizwan 55, Qais 2-77) beat Quetta Gladiators 253 for 8 (Yousuf 67, Iftikhar 53, Afridi 5-47) by 9 runs