Multan Sultans Dominate Rawalpindiz in Convincing Chase

Multan Sultans underlined their status as early favourites in PSL 2026 with a commanding seven-wicket victory over Rawalpindiz, chasing down a target of 182 with nearly four overs to spare.

The chase was anchored by a scintillating knock from Sahibzada Farhan, who continued his rich vein of form with a blistering 68 off 38 deliveries. He found strong support in Josh Philippe, who notched up his second half-century of the tournament. The duo stitched together a match-defining 110-run partnership off just 58 balls, effectively taking the game away from Rawalpindiz.

Despite an early breakthrough by Mohammad Amir, who dismissed Steve Smith, Rawalpindiz failed to maintain pressure. Farhan soon counterattacked, taking Amir apart with consecutive sixes, setting the tone for the innings as Sultans raced to 58 in the Powerplay.

Rawalpindiz’s bowling attack struggled to contain the onslaught. Philippe accelerated further, targeting Mohammad Amir Khan and Rishad Hossain in successive overs. Although both Farhan and Philippe eventually fell after their aggressive fifties, the damage had been done, leaving Shan Masood and Ashton Turner to comfortably finish the chase.

Earlier, Rawalpindiz posted 181, largely thanks to a late surge from Sam Billings, who scored an unbeaten 56 off 34 balls. However, their innings was derailed in the middle overs by an exceptional spell from left-arm wrist-spinner Faisal Akram. His four wickets, including the key dismissal of Daryl Mitchell, broke the backbone of Rawalpindiz’s batting lineup.

Brief contributions from Kamran Ghulam and Abdullah Fazal gave Rawalpindiz a steady start, while Dian Forrester added late fireworks with three consecutive sixes. Still, the lack of sustained partnerships meant they fell short of a par score on a batting-friendly pitch.

In the end, the total proved insufficient against a well-balanced and in-form Multan Sultans side, who executed both with ball and bat to register a comprehensive win.