Mohammad Rizwan opens up about losing to Islamabad United in PSL 9 final
- Mohammad Rizwan talked about losing in the PSL 9 final.
- He was not satisfied wth his batting.
- United clinched its third PSL title.
Mohammad Rizwan, the captain of Multan Sultans, shared his thoughts after his team was defeated by Islamabad United in the final of the ninth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Monday in Karachi.
Islamabad clinched their third PSL championship, having previously won in 2016 and 2018, making them the most decorated team in the history of the tournament.
“If the match goes to last ball, you can’t really point out any flaw. Credit to Imad for picking a fifer and scoring those crucial runs,” Rizwan commented.
“When you have momentum then you want to just keep playing but the gap [after the Qualifier] breaks the momentum, it isn’t an excuse but we can say they [Islamabad] played really well.
“I’m not quite satisfied with my batting, I’m always available for Pakistan to bat any position.
“Congratulations to Islamabad and it was fun to play tonight in front of a packed house.”
The suspenseful match was decided on the final ball when Hunain Shah stepped up to bat needing just one run. The young player cleverly found a gap at point and struck the ball for four.
Earlier, after choosing to bat first, the Sultans posted a score of 159-9 in their 20 overs. Usman Khan’s 57 off 40 balls and captain Mohammad Rizwan’s 26 were the highlights for the Sultans.
However, the Sultans lost five wickets for only 13 runs, causing their score to drop to 127-9.
Imad Wasim, the left-arm spinner, was the standout performer with figures of 5-23, while Naseem took 3-32.
Iftikhar Ahmed’s explosive unbeaten 32 off 20 balls, which included three sixes and as many fours, added 31 in the last two overs, bringing Multan back into contention.
United also stumbled, as their score fell from 121-4 to 129-7, but Wasim kept his composure, scoring a 17-ball 19 with the tail-enders to help them cross the finish line.
For the winning team, Martin Guptill was the top scorer with a 50 off 32 balls, which included three sixes and four boundaries. Azam Khan contributed a quickfire 30 off 22 balls, hitting a six and four boundaries.
