Lahore, 9 April 2025:
The two most colourful sides – Multan Sultans from the Southern Punjab – are from the place known as the City of Saints. Peshawar is the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and has been one of the most successful cities of Pakistan cricket in recent times.
When it comes to the HBL Pakistan Super League, Multan Sultans have a stranglehold on Peshawar Zalmi. The two sides have met 16 times with Sultan winners on an impressive 11 occasions. Peshawar Zalmi have taken five of those games.
When Multan Sultans started as the sixth team in the HBL PSL in 2018, they won both their encounters against Peshawar Zalmi and formed an early dominance in head-to-head encounters.
In this article, we reflect on five most memorable Multan Sultans-Peshawar Zalmi encounters.
March 13, 2020 PSL 5, Karachi
Multan Sultans won by 3 runs
The rise of Multan Sultan in HBL PSL continued in the fifth edition as they upstaged Peshawar Zalmi by three runs in a close contest that was decided on the last delivery of the match. The victory gave Multan Sultans first place in the league stages.
For the winners, medium pacer Ali Shafiq was the hero as he defended 15 in the final over.
Chasing 155 runs for victory, Peshawar Zalmi were on course with 27 needed in the last three overs. At that point Shafiq dismissed Haider Ali and Shoaib Malik while conceding only three runs in over No. 18 to halt Zalmi’s progress. In the final over Shafiq did lose his cool and bowled a waist high no-ball that went for a boundary, reducing the target to seven runs off the last three balls. A no-ball, a leg-bye and a single off the bat left four for victory. Adil Amin tried a ramp shot which did not come off as Hasan Ali failed to regain the crease and was run-out, giving Multan a narrow win.
Imam-ul-Haq had given Peshawar Zalmi a sound start with a polished 41-ball 56 studded with two sixes and four boundaries. Sohail Tanvir 3-26 and Shafiq with 2-31 were the successful bowlers for the winners.
Earlier, Multan Sultans were lifted to 154-6 by Zeeshan Ashraf whose 52 came off 39 balls with the help of seven boundaries and a six. Khushdil Shah lifted the score with a fiery 20-ball 30, while Shahid Afridi smashed 13-ball 19. For Zalmi left-arm pacer Rahat Ali finished with 3-24.
March 6, 2018 PSL 3, Dubai
Multan Sultans won by 19 runs
The first year of Multan Sultans’ HBL PSL campaign had some memorable victories despite not reaching the play-offs. This was one of them as Sohaib Maqsood dominated the bowling with a whirlwind innings.
On a flat Dubai Stadium pitch, Peshawar Zalmi skipper Mohammad Hafeez won the toss and sent the opposition into bat. Multan Sultans openers Ahmed Shahzad and Kumar Sangakkara gave their side a confident start of 51, both scoring 37 and 28 runs, respectively. But it was Maqsood who gave impetus to the innings with a magnificent 42-ball 85. He hit seven towering sixes and four boundaries to take the total to 183-3 in the allotted 20 overs.
In turn, Zalmi skipper Hafeez held the innings with a solid 41-ball 56 studded with two sixes and five boundaries. Riki Wessels with 22 and Liam Dawson with a brisk 17-ball 32 including three sixes took the challenge. But it was Sohail Tanvir who dismissed Dawson and Hammad Azam in the 19th over to turn the tables on Zalmi as he finished with figures of 3-14 as the Peshawar side ended on 164-8.
February 24, 2019 PSL, 4 Sharjah
Peshawar Zalmi won by five wickets with two balls
The Sharjah Cricket Stadium has hosted a number of thrilling finishes. The Peshawar Zalmi- Multan Sultans in Sharjah left the fans on the edge of their seats as it had all the ingredients of a T20 match. It was a battle between two crowd favourites – Daren Sammy and Shahid Afridi – that decided the outcome of the match. Afridi dropped a tough caught and bowled chance in the dying stages before Sammy stole the winning run.
On a flat and shining Sharjah Stadium pitch, Peshawar Zalmi opted to field first. Pacer Hasan Ali kept a tight line and length to limit Multan Sultans to 145 all-out in 20 overs. He jolted Multan Sultans in the very first over of the match when he bowled seasoned T20 batter James Vince for nought. Johnson Charles and Umer Siddiq put on an 80-run stand for the second wicket to revive their team. Charles’s 53 came off just 34 balls spiced with three towering sixes and four boundaries. Siddiq scored 20 while Shoaib Malik made 17.
In turn, Sultans’ lanky left-armer Mohammad Irfan too took a wicket in the first over, dismissing one of PSL’s most successful batters Kamran Akmal for four. But Peshawar Zalmi got footings with Imam-ul-Haq (52 off 44 balls with five boundaries and a six) and Dawid Malan (38 off 35 with five fours) added 68 runs for the second wicket. Peshawar Zalmi stuttered briefly when Australian all-rounder Dan Christian removed Malan and Liam Dawson in quick succession to leave them on 115-4. But Kieron Pollard lit the stadium by hitting four sixes in his 10-ball 25 not out to change the game in a jiffy.
March 10, 2023 PSL 8, Rawalpindi
Multan Sultans won by four wickets
Multan Sultans rode on a brilliant 41- ball century by Rilee Rossouw to stun Peshawar Zalmi who had high hopes of victory after putting 242-6 on the board. But the South Africa dasher shattered their dreams with his blitzkrieg.
In a big run-chase, Multan Sultans were hit hard with the dismissals of Shan Masood for three and Mohammad Rizwan for five, but Rossouw had different ideas. He made the joint-fastest fifty of the PSL off 17 balls before reaching the three-figure mark off just 41 balls. He bettered his own record of 43 balls he set for Sultans against Quetta Gladiators in 2020. Rossouw clattered eight sixes and 12 fours in his 51-ball 121 to help Multan achieve the then second-highest chase in all of T20 history, with five balls to spare. At the other end it was Kieron Pollard who matched his partner shot for shot, smashing a 25-ball 52. The two added 99 runs off just 43 balls for the third-wicket.
The chase stuttered a bit when Tim David and Khushdil Shah fell cheaply, but Anwar Ali 24 not out and Usama Mir 11 not out sealed the match. Rossouw fell in the penultimate over but Usama Mir hit Azmatullah Omarzai a six off the fourth ball and Anwar sealed the match on the last ball with a maximum.
Earlier in the day, Peshawar Zalmi’s total was built by Babar Azam (73 off 39) and Saim Ayub’s (58 off 33). The openers put on 134 inside 13 overs. Babar smashed nine boundaries and two sixes, while Saim’s knock had four sixes and five boundaries. Abbas Afridi, brought in as seventh bowler, put the brakes on Zalmi’s innings, grabbing wickets of Babar, Mohammad Haris and Rovman Powell. Tom Kohler-Cadmore with 38 and Omarzai with 16 ensured the good early work was not spoiled.
But Rossouw changed the complexion of the game. “The way Rilee came out tonight, he put us under pressure from ball one was amazing,” said Kohle who was stand-in captain of Zalmi.
March 14, 2024 PSL 9 Karachi
Qualifier – Multan Sultans won by seven wickets
A victory over Peshawar Zalmi guided Multan Sultans into the final of ninth edition of the HBL PSL.
Batting first after winning the toss, Peshawar Zalmi couldn’t get the proper and rapid going as they lost burgeoning opener Saim Ayub to David Willey off the fifth ball of the match. Skipper Babar Azam found an able ally in Mohammad Haris as they added 47 for the second wicket. Babar scored a 42-ball 46 as stroke-making was tough on the pitch. It was evident in Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s knock as well who managed a run-a-ball 24.
Usama Mir checked the scoring with a parsimonious 2-16 in his four overs. Chris Jordan finished with 2-28 as Peshawar scored 146-7, which proved to be a below-par total.
Multan Sultans cruised to 61 in 7.4 overs before they lost Mohammad Rizwan (15). However, Yasir Khan continued to dominate the run-chase and scored a quick 37-ball 54 with a six and seven fours. Usman Khan hit an unbeaten 36 and Iftikhar Ahmed 22 not out to help Multan Sultans cross the line in 18.3 overs for the loss of just three wickets.
