Kumar Sangakkaa and Shoaib Malik’s responsible knock helped Multan Sultans beat defending champions Peshawar Zalmi in the first match of the third edition of the Pakistan Super League in Dubai on Thursday.
After opting to bowl first, Sultans produced an impressive show with the bowl to restrict Darren Sammy-led Zalmi to just 151 for the loss of six wickets in their allotted 20 overs.
Mohammad Hafeez finished as the top scorer for Zalmi with 59 off 52 with the help of six fours and one six.
For Sultans, tall left-arm pacer Mohammad Irfan was the star of the show as he claimed two wickets and just gave away 19 runs.
In chase of 152, Sultans suffered an early blow as opener Ahmad Shahzad departed without scoring.
However, Sangakkara stabilize the innings, first with Sohaib Maqsood and then with captain Malik to make sure there were no hurdles for the new entrants as Sultans cruised to the victory with five balls to spare.
Sangakkara finished the innings with the top score of 57 off 51 balls with the help of three fours and two sixes, whereas Malik scored an unbeaten 42 off 30 balls with the help of two fours and two sixes.
For Zalmi, pacer Wahab Riaz was the most successful bowler on the night as he claimed two wickets.
For his outstanding batting performances, Sangakkara was named player of the match.
Peshawar Zalmi
Head coach: Mohammad Akram
Captain: Darren Sammy
Squad: Darren Sammy (c), Tamim Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Andre Fletcher, Riki Wessels, Hammad Azam, Haris Sohail, Dwayne Bravo, Khushdil Shah, Umaid Asif, Saad Nasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shabbir Rahman, Liam Dawson, Sameen Gul, Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Asghar, Wahab Riaz
Multan Sultans
Head coach: Tom Moody
Captain: Shoaib Malik
Squad: Shoaib Malik (c), Ahmed Shehzad, Darren Bravo, Abdullah Shafique, Saif Badar, Nicholas Pooran, Kumar Sangakkara, Sohaib Maqsood, Kashif Bhatti, Shan Masood, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Abbas, Umar Siddiq, Ross Whiteley, Imran Tahir, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Hardus Viljoen
