Rizwan credits Smith for Sultans' victory over winless RawalPindiz

KARACHI: RawalPindiz captain Mohammad Rizwan picked experienced batter Steve Smith's blistering half-century as the difference-maker in their six-wicket defeat against Multan Sultans in the 31st match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 here at the National Bank Stadium on Tuesday.

Opting to bat first, the debutants racked up a formidable total of 166/4 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Daryl Mitchell's unbeaten half-century and a late blitz by Dian Forrester.

Mitchell top-scored for the bottom-placed side with an unbeaten 58 off 46 deliveries, while Forrester made a quickfire 37, conceding just 15 balls.

Besides them, Sam Billings and captain Rizwan made notable contributions, scoring 29 and 26, respectively.

For Sultans, Peter Siddle, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Wasim Jr and Arafat Minhas picked up one wicket apiece.

In turn, the Sultans made light work of the 167-run target as they chased it down comfortably for the loss of just four wickets and eight balls to spare.

The Sultans, however, had a contrasting start to the pursuit as they lost opener Sahibzada Farhan in the fourth with 29 runs on the board, which halted the flow of runs for the 2021 champions, who were 61/1 after eight overs.

But Smith switched gears as he hit a four and three consecutive sixes to Mohammad Imran in the ninth over and turned the game on its head.

The Australian eventually walked back after top-scoring with a blistering 56 off 31 deliveries in the 12th over when Sultans required a further 67 off 51 deliveries.

Sultans captain Ashton Turner then took the reins of their pursuit and ultimately steered his side over the line in the penultimate over with an unbeaten 37 off 21 deliveries.

Reflecting on his team's performance, Rizwan insisted that Pindiz had Sultans under pressure, but Smith's knock changed the dimension of the fixture.

"We had targeted 170 on this pitch, but credit to Steve Smith for his [match-winning] innings. We had them under pressure, but it was his knock which took them over the line," Rizwan stated at the post-match presentation.

The wicketkeeper batter further rued that things were not going in their favour, citing a dropped catch, before expressing his determination to win their upcoming PSL 11 fixture against three-time champions Islamabad United, scheduled to be played at the same venue on Thursday.

"We are looking for a win despite losing eight out of eight. We are making mistakes, and at times things are also not going in our favour, like a dropped catch today. We will try to win our next match against Islamabad United."