Shoaib all praise for Multan’s bowlers

dubai — Multan Sultans captain Shoaib Malik gave credit to his bowlers for keeping Islamabad United to a low total and said it was vital to keep the pressure on them as they had a few attacking batsmen.

The Sultans managed to restrict United to 125 for seven in 20 overs and although they suffered a few blips along the way themselves, Sultans won by five wickets with eighth balls to spare in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday night.

Malik made an unbeaten 31 from 29 balls but it was Shahid Afridi who finished it off in style, with a six off left-arm pacer Waqas Maqsood.

It was Sultans’ first win after they had lost to Karachi Kings in their opener.

“We won because of our bowling,” Malik said after the game.

“Most of their batsmen are attacking batsmen and it was important to put pressure and get them out quickly. And our bowlers did well,” he added.

Malik said it was a tricky target to chase and added that they had to put their head down and bring some calm.

“It was such a target that if we lost wickets, we could’ve lost the game. So, we had to take it step by step and be cautious. We still have to improve our batting,” said Malik.

Meanwhile, Malik’s opposite number Mohammed Sami felt that they were a few runs short.

“We were 20 runs short but we bowled better. We will have to work on our batting,” said Sami.

United take on the Quetta Gladiators, while Lahore Qalandars meet Peshawar Zalmi on Sunday.