Rilee Rossouw stars as Multan Sultans blitz Peshawar Zalmi

Multan Sultans have gone top of the PSL table early on with two wins from three

Nick Friend | 17/02/2023 at 18:24

Multan: Multan Sultans 210-3, Peshawar Zalmi 154 - Multan Sultans win by 56 runs

Another blitz from Rilee Rossouw set up a thumping win for Multan Sultans against Peshawar Zalmi as last season's runners-up won their second game of the new Pakistan Super League campaign.

After a one-run defeat in their season opener, Multan have now won twice in a row, with their batting line-up firing early on.

Rossouw, who smashed 75 off 36 balls after Sultans started slowly against Peshawar, has made belting half centuries in both victories. He hit 12 fours and two sixes as Mohammad Rizwan's charges reached 210 for 3 from their 20 overs.

Rizwan himself made 66, while David Miller (23*) and Kieron Pollard (15*) added late cameos after Rizwan and Rossouw had finally fallen. Shan Masood struggled early on for 20 off 25 deliveries against Zalmi's threadbare bowling attack.

Peshawar have stacked their middle order with four overseas players – Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rovman Powell and Jimmy Neesham – but only Neesham and Wahab Riaz of their five bowlers against Mutlan have any international experience. Left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem only made his professional T20 debut on Tuesday.

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^{Saim Ayub made 53 for Peshawar in a losing cause (Farooq Naeem/AFP via Getty Images)}

Sultans made hay against that collective inexperience, setting Peshawar a daunting target that they never came close to.

Mohammad Haris, Pakistan's exciting 21-year-old opener, provided a fast start alongside the more sedate Babar Azam, but Babar was trapped in front by the impressive Ihsanullah, while Haris was run out for 40, a knock that included four sixes in 23 balls.

Kohler-Cadmore followed, before Powell (23) combined with 20-year-old Saim Ayub, who made an eye-catching half century. But the Pakistani left-hander was one of three victims for Usama Mir, who had dismissed Rajapaksa two balls earlier as the house of cards tumbled.

Neesham made 12 but was one of just four Zalmi players to reach double figures as Multan won convincingly.