Quetta Gladiators out of playoffs race after humbling defeat

Quetta Gladiators' slim hopes of making to the playoffs of PSL 2021 came to a crashing, humbling end as they folded for just 73 - the second lost total in the tournament's history - while chasing Multan Sultans' 183/5. Shan Masood's 42-ball 73 and Johnson Charles's 24-ball 47 laid the platform for Sultans' big total, before Imran Khan and Imran Tahir combined to make mincemeat of Gladiators' chase in some style.

A blitzkreig-of-an-opening stand gave the Sultans a confident, flying start as Masood and Mohammad Rizwan added 50 for no wicket in the PowerPlay despite a fine five-run over from Mohammad Hasnain when he cranked up the speeds. The batting pair truly laid down the marker of their intentions when they got 17 runs in the seventh over as Masood hit Mohammad Nawaz for two successive sixes.

A 26-ball fifty came about in the following over, setting the tone for Sultans' batting flourish. But Khurram Shahzad struck first ball on introduction and Sohaib Maqsood was cleaned up by Zahir Khan to drag the Gladiators back into the contest.

From 88 for 2 at the halfway stage, Masood and Johnson Charles added 37 runs in the next 22 deliveries, before Masood played one shot too many off Hassan Khan and holed out to Hasnain at deep mid-wicket for a 42-ball 73 that included seven fours and four sixes. The Gladiators tried to pull back further with the wicket of Rilee Rossouw but Charles found an able ally in Khushdil Shah.

During a manic stand worth 42 off 26 balls, Charles threw his bat around, smashing two fours and a six off a single Hasnain over. He departed for a 24-ball 47, but left the Sultans in much better shape than before. A 10-run final over took the Sultans to 183 for 5, which proved to far more than what they needed for the win on the day.

That was because Gladiators' batting ineptitude reared its head on a day when playoffs chances were riding on the result. An early double wicket over from Imran Khan clipped the chasing side's wings inside the PowerPlay, as last game's hero Jake Weatherald and Cameron Delport fell cheaply. By the end of the first six overs, the Gladiators lost Usman Khan to a bout of miscommunication that led to a run out. The bleeding didn't stop once the fielding restrictions were relaxed either.

Blessing Muzarabani was brought in for what was the eighth straight over of pace in the chase and he struck straightaway, getting Azam Khan to nick one behind. Sohail Tanvir reduced the Gladiators to five down with Sarfaraz Ahmed's wicket in the ninth over before Imran Tahir brought them to their knees with two dents in the 10th. Gladiators, tottering at 59 for 8 in 10 overs, were put out of their misery in the 13th over - as they folded for 73 to hand the Sultans a victory by 110 runs.

Brief Scores: Multan Sultans 183/5 in 20 overs (Shan Masood 73, Johnson Charles 47; Khurram Shahzad 2-26) lost to Quetta Gladiators 73 in 12.1 overs (Jake Weatherald 19; Imran Tahir 3-7, Imran Khan 2-13) by 110 runs