Skipper Rizwan powered Multan Sultans to thrash Lahore Qalandars by five wickets in the seventh match of Pakistan Super League season 9 being played at Multan National Stadium on Wednesday, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Lahore Qalandars set a target of 167-run to Multan Sultans and the winner chased the target in 19 overs after the loss of five wickets. Rizwan played a captain's inning while making 82 runs.
Iftikhar Ahmed struck 24 runs in the 19th over to successfully conclude the pursuit of 167 runs within 19 overs. The 33-year-old remained unbeaten at 34 runs off 11 balls.
With this, Multan are placed comfortably at the top with three wins and six points. They have an NRR of 1.165. Lahore are fifth with three losses.
The chase led by Mohammad Rizwan showcased a mix of brilliance and challenges. Rizwan played an anchoring inning, scoring 82 runs off 59 balls.
The team faced an early setback when Dawid Malan was declared lbw off Zaman Khan's delivery without contributing any runs to the scoreboard. Reeza Hendricks followed suit, contributing just 9 runs before being caught by Fakhar Zaman off Shaheen Afridi's bowling.
Yasir Khan, after scoring 8 runs, was stumped by wicketkeeper Sahibzada Farhan off the bowling of George Linde.
Rizwan paired with Willey to post a 75-run stand after three wickets fell. After Rizwan's dismissal, Iftikhar Ahmed took the charge with Willey.
Willey added 25 runs before being declared lbw by Shaheen in the 18th over.
Iftikhar Ahmed played a remarkable knock, which included five boundaries and two sixes helping his side to third win in the competition.
Rassie van der Dussen and Fakhar Zaman guided Lahore Qalandars to score 166 runs after the loss of five wickets. They made 54 and 41 runs respectively.
The defending champions lost their in-form opener, Sahibzada Farhan (2), in the second over, bowled by Mohammad Ali, with just three runs on the scoreboard.
Following the early setback, van der Dussen joined Fakhar Zaman in the middle, and the duo batted sensibly to initiate a recovery.
They added 94 runs for the second wicket in just 11 overs until van der Dussen fell victim to Usama Mir, shortly after reaching his half-century.
He remained the top-scorer for the Qalandars with a 37-ball 54, hitting four boundaries and two sixes.
Fakhar then formed a brief partnership with Jahandad Khan before finally perishing in the 16th over.
He scored 41 off 36 deliveries with the help of two boundaries and two sixes.
Later, all-rounders Sikandar Raza and Jahandad added valuable runs at the backend with brief cameos.
Raza scored 23 off 16 deliveries with the help of four boundaries, while Jahandad made a nine-ball 16, which included a six.
Carlos Brathwaite then provided a late push to the Qalandars' total with a brisk 15. His eight-ball knock featured one boundary and a six.
Right-arm pacer Mohammad Ali once again led the bowling charge for Multan Sultans in PSL 9, picking up two wickets, while Abbas Afridi and Usama Mir each claimed one.
Multan Sultans's pace Muhammad Ali again remained a succesful bowler with 2 wickets after conceeding 28 runs in four overs.