Quetta Gladiators’ wicketkeeper batter Sarfaraz Ahmed has been ruled out of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9 match between Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators on Sunday.
A ball struck Sarfaraz on his head during the last over of Multan’s innings after which Mohammad Sajjad Ali replaced him as a keeper.
Sajjad will now also replace the former Gladiators skipper as a concussion substitute with the bat.
Multan set an 181-run target for Quetta courtesy of their attacking cricket in the final overs as Reeza Hendricks and Tayyab Tahir guided the Sultans to a competitive total.
By the time this story was filed, the Gladiators were 123-4 in 14 overs during their target chase.
Batting first, the Sultans started with a blast as opener Usman Khan hit three boundaries to Akeal Hosein to end the first over with 14/0.
However, the right-handed batter was removed by mystery spinner Abrar Ahmed in the third over after scoring 14 runs.
Mohammad Rizwan built a crucial 79-run partnership with Hendricks during which he also completed his half-century. The Sultans skipper then departed for the pavilion after contributing 51 runs on 42 balls courtesy of six boundaries.
After Rizwan’s dismissal, Quetta looked in complete control of the match as they had restricted Sultans to 122-2 in 16 overs.
However, Hendricks and Tahir changed the course of the game for the home side as both scored 58 runs combined in the last four overs to take their side to a competitive total.
Hendricks departed in the last over after scoring 72 runs on 47 balls while Tahir remained unbeaten for 35 off 22.
Lineups
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Usman Khan, Reeza Hendricks, Tayyab Tahir, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, David Willey, Usama Mir, Aftab Ibrahim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali
Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Saud Shakeel, Khawaja Nafay, Rilee Rossouw (c), Sarfaraz Ahmed, Sherfane Rutherford, Akeal Hosein, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Usman Tariq, Mohammad Amir, Abrar Ahmed
