Rizwan, Sohaib steer Sultans to first win.

LAHORE -- Mohammad Rizwan and Sohaib Maqsood steered Multan Sultans to a first win in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 after routing Lahore Qalandars by 7 wickets in the 7th match played at the National Stadium on Friday.

Sultans surmounted the 158-run target with 22 balls spare as Rizwan, who posted his second half-century and became the leading run-getter of the season, scored a breezy 49-ball 76, studded by 12 fours, and Sohaib hammered 7 fours and two 2 sixes in his 61 not out off 41. The pair stitched a match-winning 110-run partnership for the third wicket. Shaheen Shah Afridi struck in the first over as he clean bowled Chris Lynn with a scorching yorker in the first over. James Vince (5 off 6) was next to go, with scoreboard reading at 30 for two.

But the wickets did not inflict the harm, which Qalandars desired as captain Rizwan's subliminal form stretched into this match and he stroked them out of trouble. The wicketkeeper-batsman, who got recently promoted to Category A in the PCB's Central Contract List for 2020-21, accumulated 44 off 22 in the powerplay overs to take Sultans' score to 58 at the conclusion of the sixth over. Both Rizwan and Sohaib played shots all around the ground, and were treat to watch for the fans, who showed up in numbers after 50 percent of fans were allowed for the first time in PSL-6. For Qalandars, Shaheen picked two wickets for 29.

Earlier, after being put into bat by Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan, Qalandars managed to score 157 for six thanks to Mohammad Hafeez's second consecutive half-century. The right-handed Hafeez came to the crease when Qalandars lost opening pair Fakhar Zaman (9 off 11) and Sohail Akhtar (7 off 12) for 17 and scored 60 off 35. The two early dismissals combined with top-class bowling allowed Qalandars only 25 runs in the first six overs - their lowest score in the powerplay.

Joe Denly and Hafeez put up an 89-run stand for the third wicket, in which Denly contributed a 29-ball 31, smashing two fours and as many sixes. Hafeez, brought up his eighth half century of the HBL PSL in 27 balls, stroking right-arm fast Shahnawaz Dhani...