The eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is underway, with defending champions Lahore Qalanders getting their campaign off to a victorious start against the so-far impressive Multan Sultans. 
Match by match mini reviews
Match 1 - Lahore Qalanders vs Multan Sultans
The Qalanders got off to a strong start inside the powerplay, reaching 50-0 after six overs. Tahir Baig was then dismissed for a solid 32 off 26 off the bowling of Akeal Hosein.
Fakhar Zaman continued his excellent PSL form as he reached yet another fifty, this time off 32 balls. Shai Hope had joined him but was gone for 19 following another fifty partnership to leave Lahore 119-2 in the 14th over. Ihsanullah cleaned up Kamran Ghulam without scoring as Lahore reached 125-3 with five overs to go.
The first ball of the next over saw Fakhar pick out deep square leg off the bowling of Usama Mir to go for 66 off 42 balls. Hussain Talat provided a boost to the scoring with a brisk 20 before he smoked one to point, with Lahore ending on 175-5.
A typically solid start from Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood saw them put on their ninth fifty partnership and Multan were well-set at 85-0 after ten overs. Rizwan then brought up another fifty from 35 balls, before Masood looked to get too clever and ended up deflecting Talat to fine leg for 35 from 31. Shaheen Shah Afridi got the crucial wicket of Rizwan for 75 off 50 balls as he bowled him with a slower one.
With David Miller and Kieron Pollard at the crease, the Sultans needed 42 from four overs. Then, with 29 required from the last 12 balls, Haris Rauf delivered a beautiful yorker to get rid of Miller. In the final over, Pollard was run out coming back for a second needing 13 from 4. Young fast bowler Zaman Khan managed to hold his nerve and seal a narrow one-run win for Lahore.
Match 2 - Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings
It was a tough start to the innings for Peshawar, as Mohammad Haris departed for a quick 10. Young talent Saim Ayub was then unfortunately dismissed for just one after a straight drive from Babar Azam was deflected back on to the stumps at the non-striker's end by Mir Hamza, leaving Ayub short. That then brought Tom Kohler-Cadmore to the crease and he set about his work early, taking Imad Wasim for three consecutive sixes to give Zalmi a boost in the fifth over.
Kohler-Cadmore reached his fifty in 28 balls, a knock that included five sixes up to that point, Babar soon followed him, reaching his own half-century in 39 deliveries. Babar was then dismissed for 68 off 45 to end a brilliant partnership of 139. Kohler-Cadmore then fell just short of what would have been a stunning century as he picked out Imran Tahir at deep square leg for 92 off 50 with three balls to go; Zalmi finished on 199-5.
In reply, Sharjeel Khan was out first ball. Matthew Wade clothed Jimmy Neesham's first delivery to mid-on to go for 23 from 15 before Neesham picked up another in Qasim for 7 to leave Karachi 46-3 after the powerplay. The ball after the end of the powerplay was then horribly sliced by Haider Ali as he was dismissed for 12.
The Kings arrested their slump through Shoaib Malik and Imad, reaching 128-4 in 14 overs to leave them needing 72 from six. Imad brought up an impressive fifty from 30 balls. Malik was then dropped by Wahab Riaz with 52 needed from 23, before the veteran brought up his half-century in 33 balls as the Kings took 18 from the 18th to leave them needing 24 from 12.
Wahab then atoned for his error to get rid of Malik for 52 and end the 131 partnership, with Imad 71 not out. Ben Cutting then skied his first ball but the normally reliable Neesham shelled it, before Cutting once again sent the ball high into the night sky for Haris to claim and seemingly leave Karachi needing 17 from the last. However, Wahab had overstepped and a no-ball was signalled. Despite the extra life given, the Kings' chase petered out in the final over with a series of singles, before Imad struck the last ball for six to finish on 80 off 47; Karachi ended up three short of their target.
Match 3 - Quetta Gladiators vs Multan Sultans
Martin Guptill was dismissed early for seven after clothing one to mid-on before Abdul Bangalzai went for one after mis-timing it to the same direction. Ihsanullah then got Sarfaraz Ahmed to chop on for two to leave Quetta 38-3 after the powerplay. Jason Roy's innings came to end on 27 off 18 after he was unable to fully time a length ball over Miller at mid-off. Ihsanullah's figures then improved to 3-1 after he pinned Iftikhar Ahmed lbw first ball; he finished that over with a double-wicket maiden.
From 52-5 at halfway, the Gladiators saw a mini comeback end with Mohammad Nawaz given lbw sweeping Mir for 14 as Quetta fell to 66-6 after 12. Ihsanullah claimed another after Umar Akmal nicked one behind, before lazy running from Naseem Shah almost saw a team hat-trick completed. Ihsanullah then did complete his five-for as he cleaned up Naseem, with his figures at that point 5-3 after 2.4 overs. The Gladiators fell to 110 all out with seven balls to go, with Mohammad Hasnain and Mohammad Hafeez managing to squeeze their side above 100.
A narrow lbw call goes Quetta's way as Masood was dismissed first ball via Nuwan Thushara. Rilee Rossouw, who had struggled in his native South Africa in the inaugural SA20, then struck four fours in a row off Thushara to ease Multan into the chase. It was, in fact, a fairly straightforward task from then on for the Sultans, reaching 70-1 at halfway.
Rossouw reached his fifty in 33 balls before finishing the match with back-to-back maximums to finish 78 not out and seal an easy nine-wicket win for Multan with 39 balls still remaining.
Match 4 - Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United
James Vince missed a flick to the leg side and was bowled for just four by Rumman Raees. Colin Munro then took a brilliant catch to remove Sharjeel for 34 off 26 to break the partnership between him and Haider. Haider then brought up his fifty in the following over off 38 balls, before falling for 59 off 45 to a Rassie van der Dussen catch at long-on off the bowling of Faheem Ashraf.
The Kings reached 121-3 after 15, before Wade got strangled down the leg-side by Mohammad Wasim Jr and Imad cracked his first ball to short midwicket. Irfan Niazi's cameo came to an end on 19 off 11 when he skied one off Tom Curran as Azam Khan took another solid catch with the gloves. Looking to improve the score in the final over, Malik could only find cover as the Kings finish on 173-7.
Hassan Nawaz skied Mohammad Amir early to leave United 8-1 in the second over. Musa Khan then pinned Paul Stirling lbw for four. Imad then cleaned up van der Dussen for 31 off 25 after a solid third-wicket partnership with Munro. New Zealander Munro continued on his merry way as he brought up his fifty in just 24 balls with a six over long-on. A misunderstanding between Azam and Munro saw the latter run out for 58.
Azam makes up for his error, though, as he helps Islamabad through the chase en route to 44 off 28 balls; he falls trying to get to his fifty in one go. Faheem then smoked one that Malik managed to hold to complete an incredible diving catch to leave United needing nine off 15. Curran sent the winning runs over the ropes as Islamabad secured a four-wicket win with ten balls remaining.
Match 5 - Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi
For the second consecutive match, Masood was unable to get enough on an attempted scoop and was caught behind off Salman Irshad for 20 off 25, with Multan 54-1 in the eighth over. That brought Rossouw to the crease and the Sultans were soon 83-1 at the halfway point. Rizwan brought up yet another fifty, this time off 33 balls; he was then dismissed after skying the leg-spinner Sufiyan Muqeem for 66 from 42.
Rossouw then brought up another fifty himself off just 23 balls. A fantastic penultimate over of the innings bowled by Irshad culminated in the wicket of Rossouw for 75 off 36. 70 runs were plundered from the final five overs as the Sultans compiled a challenging 210-3.
Babar went early for nine after Rizwan went upstairs to get a not out lbw decision overturned off Ihsanullah. Haris and Ayub then set about keeping up with the rate with a range of quality strokes but Haris fell to a direct hit for 40 from 23 to begin a halt to the momentum. Kohler-Cadmore could only locate deep midwicket for three as Zalmi slipped to 95-3 in the 11th.
Ayub reached a brilliant maiden PSL fifty in 33 balls, before Rovman Powell failed to connect properly and was caught at long-on for 23 off 11 leaving Peshawar needing 81 from 39. Bhanuka Rajapaksa was out next over to Mir (4-0-22-3), along with Ayub for 53, as the chase began to slip away. Wahab was then cleaned up by Carlos Brathwaite with Zalmi 135-7 with 29 balls to go. When Neesham skied one for 12, the victory was all but confirmed. Ihsanullah promptly finished things off as the Sultans sealed the win by 56 runs.
Match 6 - Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings
Roy's patchy form continued as he was out second ball after missing a sweep off the bowling of Imad, before Bangalzai was dismissed three balls later thanks to a smart stumping from Wade; Imad completed a double-wicket maiden. His following over saw him dismiss Akmal as Quetta slipped to 13-3; they ended the powerplay 23-3. Niazi then took an incredible juggled catch to remove Sarfaraz for five and the Gladiators were struggling at a perilous 51-4 after ten overs.
They were then 85-4
at 14, before a good recovery partnership ended with Iftikhar picking out Tahir at deep
square leg for 32 off 27. Guptill then reached first PSL fifty in 44 balls, before an unbelievable acceleration saw the Kiwi great to a hundred off 62 balls; he took 30
off the penultimate over from Andrew Tye in the process. Nawaz was out off the first ball of the last
over for three. Incredibly, he had still contributed to a partnership of 58. Quetta finished on 168-7 as Guptill was out last ball for an incredible 117 off 67. Meanwhile, Tye bowled just one dot ball in
his four overs that went for 55.
In response, Sharjeel was out for a five-baller as he nicked behind off
Nawaz. Qais Ahmed then went through Haider for a four ball duck, with KK 25-2 after 3. Naseem then cleaned up a good-looking Vince for 22 off 14.
Wade chopped on for 15 the
second ball of the 11th with 99 needed from 58, before Imad gloved one behind off the
last ball of the same over to leave Karachi 76-5. In a desperate cause, yet another fifty was brought up by Malik off 40 balls. He was powerless to stop the Gladiators as, with 24 needed off the
last, Quetta held their nerve to win by 6 runs. Malik finished on 71 off 49
and Niazi 37 from 26 with a partnership of 86 off 56 ultimately in vain.
Match 7 - Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United
There was an early breakthrough for Islamabad as Masood slashed Raees to short third man for 3. That did not disrupt the Sultans' flow though, as they reached 51-1 after the powerplay. Rizwan and Rossouw continued their fine form as Multan posted 88-1 at the midway mark. Recent Test standout Abrar Ahmed was tidy and troubled Rossouw throughout his four overs.
It was Curran though who picked up the Rossouw wicket for 36 off 30 as the South African picked out his international teammate van der Dussen at deep square leg. Captain Rizwan scored another fifty, this time off 37 balls, but he was gone next ball lbw to Shadab as Multan faltered slightly at 97-3 midway through the 13th.
After that, Shadab became uncharacteristically expensive (3-0-42-1), as Miller took the first three balls of his third over for six, ending with 24 off the over. Miller then brought up his fifty off 23 balls and Multan were soon 175-3 as they began the last over. Miller was soon out though as he sliced out to deep cover for 52, before Pollard hit three consecutive fours to end the innings on 190-4.
Stirling picked out Miller at mid-off for just five as Islamabad started their chase 9-1 after two. Nawaz was then gone for 21 off 16 thanks to a great catch from Mir coming in from fine leg. They were slightly behind the rate at 87-2 at halfway but with Munro and van der Dussen at the crease. Two balls later, however, Munro nicked a googly behind off Mir for 31 off 23. At the end of the same over, Shadab holed out to deep midwicket for just one to leave Islamabad 90-4 from 11.
Abbas Afridi then cleaned up Azam for 16 off 14 to seriously dent Islamabad's hopes as they needed 79 in 34. To make matters worse, van der Dussen skied one just short of his fifty as he departed for 49 off 32 off the bowling of Abbas. The Pakistani seamer then took a great caught and bowled to remove Faheem for four before claiming another wicket the very next ball as Wasim Jr toes one behind as Islamabad fell apart.
The star of the show so far for Multan bowling-wise, Ihsanullah, then bounced out Curran as Rizwan completed an incredible flying catch, before he knocked over Abrar next ball as Multan comfortably won by 52 runs.
Match 8 - Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalanders
After a solid start from overseas pair Vince and Wade, the latter was run out coming back for a second for 36 off 24 to break a 70 run opening partnership. Karachi were well-set at 91-1 at the halfway stage, before Liam Dawson bowled Haider for 18. A successful review from Shaheen got Malik caught behind for 10, before a good yorker from Zaman got rid of Vince via a slight inside edge for 46 from 36.
A fifty partnership between Imad and Cutting for the sixth wicket ended on the first ball of the last over via perfect yorker from Shaheen to dismiss the Australian all-rounder. An unbeaten 35 from 19 for Imad saw Karachi to 185-5.
Aamer Yamin got the big wicket upfront, bowling Fakhar for 15 as the left-hander missed with a swing to the leg-side. A brilliant catch by Niazi at backward point off Amir in the next over saw Hope depart for just one. Lahore were a fair way behind at 70-2 at halfway, with Baig and Ghulam at the crease. The former then miscued one straight up to Wade to depart for 45 from 39, before Ghulam then toed one to mid-off for 23 two balls later as Karachi began to move towards a first victory of the season.
The next over, Imad had Talat stumped with Lahore five down needing 95 from 37. The equation kept rising and David Wiese's stay ended on nine as he failed to connect well enough to clear long-on, the writing on the wall becoming ever clearer. Sikandar Raza produced a couple of boundaries before he skied one for 18 and Shaheen then nicked one behind the very next ball. The team hat-trick was then completed after Dawson skied one to deep midwicket. The victory was sealed two balls later, with Karachi running out winners by 67 runs to get their season underway.
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