Multan Sultans VS Karachi Kings: Classic PSL Encounters
If we try to find out cities in Pakistan which have come out with flying colours in cricket, then Multan would definitely be one of them. The city has benefitted from concerted efforts of Pakistan Cricket Board’s regional coaches who have worked hard in spotting the talent and their grooming to near-finished product.
Apart from efforts on the part of the PCB, a state-of-the-art academy – Tareen Cricket Academy in Lodhran near Multan set up by Multan Sultan’s owner Ali Tareen – has not only spotted talent but has nurtured them to represent the city and the franchise.
When the Multan Sultans franchise was inducted into the PSL set up in 2018 the initial two years were difficult as results were not up to the mark but gradually the franchise found the right balance and results started to come. Multan Sultans formed a great rivalry with other competing teams.
The Karachi-Multan rivalry is notable at various levels in domestic cricket, especially at the Under-19 level. The PSL rivalry has seen Karachi Kings winning the first three matches out of four, with the first rained off in Sharjah in 2018. When Karachi Kings won the title in 2020 it were Multan Sultans who beat them in the round robin phase at their home ground while the second match was rained off in Lahore. An intense Qualifier was tied with both teams finishing on 141 but Kings won the Super Over en-route to their first and only title to date.
Since then, Multan Sultans have been dominant, winning six of the eight matches to date. In all the Multan-Sultan have played Karachi Kings 15 times, winning seven and losing on five occasions with one tied game and two no results.
HERE WE LOOK AT FIVE MOST MEMORABLE MULTAN SULTANS-KARACHI KINGS MATCHES
November 14, 2020: PSL 5 Karachi
Karachi Kings won in Super Over
It was an intense battle to reach the final of the fifth edition of the Pakistan Super League. Multan Sultans were in top form as they topped the six-team chart for the first time after showing great form.
On a bright November evening, Karachi Kings captain Imad Wasim won the toss and sent Multan Sultans into bat. Multan Sultans never got going on the right track as they slid to 40-4 in the seventh over. It was a stand of 40 between Ravi Bopara, top scorer with a 31-ball 40, and Khushdil Shah, who made a 17-ball 21, that revived the innings. A 12-ball 25 cameo by Sohail Tanvir spiced with three sixes and a boundary and a run-a-ball 12 by Shahid Afridi helped Multan Sultans to a fighting 141-7 in their quota of 20 overs. Arshad Iqbal and Waqas Maqsood took two wickets apiece while the innings saw two runs out of skipper Shan Masood and Rilee Rossouw, hurting them badly.
Karachi Kings too found the going tough despite a solid 53-ball 65 by star batter Babar Azam. But Tanvir and wily leg-spinner Imran Tahir triggered a middle-order collapse as Karachi Kings slumped from 90-3 to 123-7. But Imad held one end intact. It was anybody’s game with seven needed off the last over with three wickets intact and Imad at the crease. Fast bowler Mohammad Ilyas kept his cool and dismissed Mohammad Amir off the second ball but Imad smashed a boundary to tie the game.
Tanvir bowled the Super Over for Sultans with West Indian Sherfane Rutherford smashing a six and a four as Kings finished on 13-2. Mohammad Amir kept Multan Sultans to 9-0 despite bowling two wides as Ravi Bopara and Rossouw failed to hit a boundary.
February 22, 2023 PSL 8 Multan
Multan Sultans won by three runs
Another nail-biter saw Multan Sultans outplaying Karachi Kings by a narrow three-run margin. Batting first, Multan Sultans piled up 196-2 courtesy a brilliant hundred by skipper Mohammad Rizwan. His innings of 64 balls had ten hits to the rope and four above it. Rizwan built the innings with an 85-run stand with Shan Masood, who scored a 33-ball 51, and another 119 for the second wicket with Rilee Rossouw whose 29 came off 21 balls.
Karachi Kings were troubled by spinners Usama Mir and Khushdil Shah. It was James Vince who kept the tempo, keeping his team in contention with a punishing 34-ball 74 which had half a dozen sixes and seven boundaries. Fast bowler Abbas Afridi brought Sultans back in the game with the wicket of Shoaib Malik (13) but Imad Wasim once again became a thorn in Sultans’ way. Imad kept his team in the chase with an aggressive 26-ball 46 inclusive of five towering sixes. A tough 22 runs were needed off the last over but Karachi Kings had a sniff of victory when Abbas bowled a waist high no-ball which Imad hit for a six, reducing the target to 15 off six deliveries. Another wide and a six by Cutting brought Karachi within seven runs for victory. Another wide further hit Multan but Abbas regained his composure as he dismissed Cutting. He then pulled off a three-run win for his team.
It was a match to remember, especially the final over.
March 4, 2019 PSL 4 Abu Dhabi
Karachi Kings won by five wickets
It was another closely contested match which highlighted the fact that these two teams fight hard and keep the intense rivalry intact.
On a difficult Sheikh Zayed Stadium pitch in Abu Dhabi, Karachi Kings skipper Imad Wasim opted to bowl first and was rewarded with four wickets by pacer Usman Shinwari and three by spinner Umer Khan. Allrounders Hamad Azam (29) and Shoaib Malik (26) saved their team’s blushes with a stand of 31 for the fourth wicket while Australian Chris Green ensured Sultans get past 100-mark with an innings of 18. Multan Sultans managed 118-7 in their 20 overs.
Defending a paltry 119, Multan Sultans kept the pressure with some tight bowling. Mohammad Abbas’s figures of 4-1-14-2 and fellow pacer Mohammad Illyas grabbed 3-27 gave Multan some hope but England’s hard-hitting batter Liam Livingstone anchored the chase with a cautious 42-ball 53 not out. Karachi only crossed the target in the last over with five wickets intact.
June 10, 2021 PSL 6 Abu Dhabi
Multan Sultans won by 12 runs
On the way to their maiden title, Multan Sultans beat the star-studded Karachi Kings by 12 runs in a closely fought PSL 6 edition game. The Covid restrictions had made life tough for the players and the management. The event was shifted to the UAE and was played in intense heat.
That heat on the ground was also evident in another classic match. Multan Sultans had lost the toss and were asked to bat first on a slow-paced pitch. Dashing Afghan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz went for just three, leaving the repair work to Mohammad Rizwan and Sohaib Maqsood who added 36 for the second wicket. By the fourth over, Maqsood was gone for 31 off just 14 balls which contained five boundaries and a six. Rilee Rossouw helped Rizwan to take the score to 80 with an innings of 44. Rizwan scored a 23-ball 29 before he was run out. Khushdil Shah’s dashing 32-ball 44, including two sixes and three boundaries took Multan Sultans to 176-5 in their 20 overs.
Pacer Imran Khan (3-28) and wily leg-spinner (2-27) constantly kept Karachi Kings under control despite Babar Azam knocking an attractive 63-ball 85 with four sixes and five boundaries. West Indian Chadwick Walton hit a fiery 23-ball 35 but the asking rate kept jumping. In the end Karachi Kings managed 164-7 in their 20 overs, losing by 12 runs.
March 3, 2024 PSL 9 Karachi
Multan Sultans won by 20 runs
The highlight of the match was a blistering hundred by Multan Sultans opener Usman Khan. The dashing batter lifted his team with a memorable 59-ball 106 not out after Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and opted to bat on a flat National Stadium pitch in Karachi. Usman’s knock, comprising five sixes and ten boundaries, propelled Multan Sultans to 189-3. Rizwan chipped in with a solid 44-ball 58.
Karachi Kings were jolted in the second over when their aggressive New Zealand batter Tim Seifert was run out for just one. It hurt their aims of a rapid start. Skipper Shan Masood with 36 and Shoaib Malik with 38 kept them in the hunt but at 99-5 they had nearly given up the chase. Mohammad Nawaz with 27 and newcomer Irfan Khan with 23 revived the chase but the asking rate kept climbing. Hasan Ali also chipped in with a rapid eight-ball 17 but Multan Sultans pulled off a 20-run win by keeping their rivals to 169-7.
