Tahir hat-trick helps Multan Sultans breeze to victory
Multan Sultans thrashed Quetta Gladiators by nine wickets in the Pakistan Super League on Saturday with the hat-trick of Tahir Imran, the second of this season.
15.2 - Hasan Khan, 102-8— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 3, 2018
15.3 - John Hastings, 15.3
15.4 Rahat Ali, 102-10
Imran Tahir bamboozled tail end of @TeamQuetta with a hat-trick#HBLPSL #MSvQG #DilSeJaanLagaDe pic.twitter.com/fo6x3wwDCL
In the 13th match of PSL season-3 in Sharjah, Quetta Gladiators lost their last five wickets for mere one run. Sohail Tanvir took two wickets in two balls to expose the tail, before Imran Tahir ripped through the last three wickets. The target was 103, and there were no twists to be had.
For his spell of 3 for 14 @sohal is the Man of the Match #MSvQG#HBLPSL #DilSeJaanLagaDe pic.twitter.com/V6hmVgiT5N— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 3, 2018
Ahmed Shehzad and Kumar Sangakkara, the Multan openers, didn't need to be explosive, and were experienced enough to know as much. Instead, they took the sting out of the game with a 66-run opening partnership. By that time, they required less than 40. At the end, Sangakkara, who reached yet another half-century, was there with Sohaib Maqsood, who hit the a six to seal the win. Mohammad Irfan, who is having a good tournament, excelled again with a superb opening spell. Exploiting the bounce and the angle across the right-hander, he kept the batsman on a leash during the Powerplay, conceding a mere 27 runs in his four-over spell. He was also responsible for the wicket of Mahmudullah, who replaced Kevin Pietersen, and instrumental in squeezing the life out of the Quetta innings. The wickets may have ended up going to Tahir and Tanvir, but one would be amiss to discount Irfan's part in them.
The hat-trick
Saturday produced the tournament's third hat-trick and the second this season, both going to Multan. Tahir, already the leading wicket-taker, stepped up with Quetta seven down. Hasan Khan and John Hastings were clean bowled, before Rahat Ali was trapped plumb in front. He took a review, for no reason other than that it was there, but it merely delayed Tahir's jaunty celebrations.
Multan join Karachi at the top of the table with seven points, while Quetta, having won just two of their five games, drop down to fifth place and are stuck on four points.
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