Multan Sultans opt to field in first match of PSL 8 against Lahore Qalandars

Home side Multan Sultans’ captain Muhammad Rizwan Monday won the toss and opted to bowl first against Lahore Qalandars in the first match of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League at Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan.

Lahore Qalandars are defending the title, they won after defeating Multan Sultans by 42 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium, which will again stage the final on March 19.

In the last PSL match at this venue, Multan Sultans overpowered Quetta Gladiators by 30 runs. Rilee Rossouw was on top of his game and guided Sultans to a massive total of 199. In reply, Gladiators ended up 30 runs short of the target and spinners were having a ball out there.

Pakistan's in-form wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan will be marshalling the troops for Multan and he will have the able support of Australia's Tim David, Rilee Rossouw, David Miller and West Indies seasoned campaigner Kieran Pollard. Rizwan accumulated 351 runs at a staggering average of 50.14 in the Bangladesh Premier League.

It will be interesting to see Shaheen Afridi making a comeback after a gruelling injury that kept him out of action for six months and he aggravated his injury in the T20 World Cup in Australia. Shaheen has taken 75 wickets in 53 games and has led the wicket-taking charts in the last two editions of the tournament. A notable omission from Lahore Qalandars is the magician Rashid Khan who is unavailable for the first three matches.

Multan leads the head-to-head record after getting the better of Lahore on seven occasions while Qalandars have been fiercely competitive in their clashes, emerging victorious in six matches.