Josh Philippe hit a half-century as Multan Sultans defeated Islamabad United by five wickets in the fourth match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday.
Set to chase 172, the Sultans comfortably knocked the winning runs for the loss of five wickets and eight balls to spare.
The 2021 champions, however, had a contrasting start to their innings as they lost in-form opener Sahibzada Farhan in the third over with just 16 runs on the board.
Following the early stutter, Philippe joined Steve Smith in the middle, and the duo brought the Sultans back into the hunt by knitting a brisk 45-run partnership for the second wicket.
Salman Irshad broke the budding stand by dismissing Smith, who made a valiant 31 off 23 deliveries on his PSL debut.
Sultans then suffered another setback to their pursuit as United’s captain Shadab Khan removed Shan Masood (six) in the next over and thus slipped to 70/3 in 8.5 overs.
Philippe then raised a match-defining 61-run partnership for the fourth wicket with captain Ashton Turner until eventually falling victim to Shadab in the 15th over.
The wicketkeeper batter remained the top-scorer for the Sultans with a blazing 55 off 35 deliveries, studded with five fours and two sixes.
Emerging all-rounder Arafat Minhas retained Sultans’ momentum by playing a swashbuckling 25-run cameo from just 11 deliveries, hitting four fours and a six, and walked back in the 18th over when United needed just 10 more from 16 deliveries.
Skipper Turner oversaw the Sultans’ run chase until the end and returned after scoring an unbeaten 43 off 28 deliveries, featuring four fours and a six, while all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz contributed with seven not out from five balls.
For the United, Irshad and skipper Shadab bagged two wickets each, while Imad made one scalp.
Earlier, Sultans captain Ashton Turner’s decision to field first proved beneficial as the three-time champions United could accumulate 171/8 in their 20 overs.
The United got off to a decent start to their innings as their opening pair of Devon Conway and Sameer Minhas put together 48 runs at a brisk pace until the former fell victim to Peter Siddle in the sixth over and walked back after scoring 26 off 23 deliveries.
Sameer (28) was then involved in a brief 21-run partnership for the second wicket with Andries Gous (11) before both perished in successive overs, resulting in United slipping to 75/3 in 9.3 overs.
Following the back-to-back dismissals, Mark Chapman took the reins of United’s batting charge and knitted brief partnerships with captain Shadab Khan (four) and Haider Ali before falling victim to Momin Qamar in the 15th over.
The New Zealand international remained the top-scorer for the three-time champions with a blistering 40 off 23 deliveries, laced with three fours and two sixes.
Qamar struck again on the final delivery of the 15th over, dismissing Haider, who mustered 13 off 12 deliveries.
The all-rounder duo of Imad Wasim (eight) and Faheem Ashraf then raised a crucial 30-run partnership for the seventh wicket, which culminated with the former’s dismissal on the first delivery of the final over.
Faheem, on the other hand, batted until the final delivery of the innings and returned after playing a handy 26-run cameo, coming off just 17 deliveries and featured four boundaries, including a six. Qamar was the standout bowler for the Sultans, taking three wickets for just 24 runs in his three overs, followed by Mohammad Wasim Jr with two, while Mohammad Nawaz, Arafat Minhas and Siddle chipped in with one scalp apiece.