Multan Sultans 147 for 3 (Yasir 54, Usman 36*, Mumtaz 1-28) win Peshawar Zalmi 146 for 7 (Babar 46, Usama 2-16, Jordan 2-28) with seven wickets
Multan Sultans entered their fourth consecutive Pakistan Super League final by defeating Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets in a one-sided qualifier on Thursday.
Sultans won the event in 2021 before losing to Lahore Qalandars in the finals of the last two editions.
In the absence of Afghanistan bowler Naveen-ul-Haq, who was ruled out of the playoffs due to his international commitment, the Zalmi bowlers struggled to defend a small total.
Yasir put on a dominant opening stand of 61 with captain Mohammad Rizwan (15) and scored a winning half-century off 30 balls. Left-arm spinner Mehran Mumtaz (1-28) couldn’t make an impact in the power play but eventually got Yasir off his bowling in the 11th over during his comeback.
Usman, who became the first batsman in PSL history to score two centuries in one season, was untroubled by the pace and Iftikhar Ahmed ended the game with a quick-fire knock of 22 off eight balls.
Earlier, Zalmi struggled against pace and spin after Babar won the toss and elected to rock. David Willey had danger-man Saim Ayub caught at deep square leg in the first over and Mohammad Haris’ (22) tournament continued when he beat fast bowler Mohammad Ali inside the power play.