Twitter Reactions: Mohammad Rizwan and Shahnawaz Dhani keep Multan Sultans’ playoffs hope alive

Multan Sultans faltered when the 2021 PSL took place in Pakistan. However, the Mohammad Rizwan-led unit has been exceptional in the second leg of the tournament in Abu Dhabi. On Sunday, June 13, they beat the Peshawar Zalmi by eight wickets to register back-to-back wins. Despite being placed fifth, the Sultans are still in the race for a playoffs’ berth with three games left in the first round.

Rutherford and Dhani shine

After being put in to bat first, the Zalmi didn’t disappoint as they managed 166 for seven. Haider Ali and Kamran Akmal took them off to a flying start with a 71-run partnership off 52 balls. However, Shahnawaz Dhani helped the Sultans stage a comeback, reducing Peshawar to 88 for four in the 11th over. He was arguably the standout bowler for the Sultans with four wickets and 13 dot deliveries.

He also got rid of Shoaib Malik for a golden duck. After Haider’s 28 and Akmal’s 35, David Miller played a quick-fire cameo of 22 off 14 before Blessing Muzarabani dismissed him. The second half of the innings belonged to Sherfane Rutherford, who scored 56 runs off 40 balls with two fours and four sixes. On the back of the southpaw’s knock, Peshawar got themselves up to a competitive score.

Rizwan and Maqsood come to the party

In the run-chase, the Sultans made their intentions clear as they scored 59 runs in the powerplay, though they lost Shan Masood to Mohammad Irfan. The blistering start meant that the required rate was down to 7.71 in the last 14 overs. After the first wicket fell with the score at 45, Rizwan and Sohaib Maqsood added 116 runs for the second wicket off 76 balls to put the Sultans in the driver’s seat.

Maqsood was the more attacking of the two as he scored a 31-ball 61 with four fours and five sixes. Rizwan, on the other hand, got to his half-century off 34 balls and stayed unbeaten on 82 off 56 with nine fours and two sixes. Mohammad Imran broke the stand, but by then the Sultans only needed six runs off 22 balls. In the end, Multan went over the finishing line with as many as 21 balls to spare.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to Multan Sultans’ win: