Usman Khan is the reason the Multan Sultans make it to the playoffs.

At the National Stadium, the Multan Sultans extended their dominant runs with the help of Usman Khan. They defeated the Karachi Kings by 20 runs to win their sixth straight game and secure a postseason berth.

Sultans amassed a massive 189/3 thanks to Usman Khan’s 59-ball 106 not out and Mohammad Rizwan’s 58 off 44. The hosts finished with 169/7, their fourth defeat in six games, as they continued to lose wickets against the Sultans’ collective bowling display.

Sultans lost Reeza Hendricks in the second over of their batting innings. But Usman made sure that the powerplay was fruitful by hitting regular boundaries leading his team to 50/1 after six overs. Usman continued to score at a strong rate. Pushing the partnership above 50 as Sultans reached 87/1 at the midway point of the innings, while Rizwan played a more reserved role.

Usman Khan reached his fifty runs in thirty-two balls, and Rizwan reached his fifty runs in forty deliveries. The pair at the second wicket is getting close to a partnership of 150 runs. With Rizwan’s wicket, Blessing Muzarabani put an end to the association, and Iftikhar Ahmed came on board shortly after. Nevertheless, Usman persisted till the very end, scoring his second PSL hundred off of Mir Hamza and concluding with 10 fours and 5 sixes to aid Sultans in amassing a substantial total.

The Kings suffered early setbacks in the chase when they lost Tim Seifert and James Vince in the opening four overs. A solid partnership was maintained by Shan Masood and Shoaib Malik as they attempted to salvage the innings. Kings scored 53 during the powerplay. But they still had a lot of work to do at the midway point when Masood, who was well-established, left a few overs later.

The seasoned Malik and Leus du Plooy had to turn things around for the club. But the Kings’ downward spiral persisted as they went to 99/5 after 13 overs. With both players falling quickly after. Even though Irfan Khan delivered a few major blows. The Kings still had a difficult task ahead of them—71 off 30. In the seventeenth over, Mohammad Nawaz and Hasan Ali smashed a couple to the fence before Irfan fell. Caught down the leg side. But as the Sultans surged to yet another victory to be comfortably atop the points table. All they could do was narrow the margin of defeat.