Every News: De Villiers, Wiese bat Qalandars to thrilling victory

De Villiers, Wiese bat Qalandars to thrilling victory
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SHARJAH: Master blaster AB de Villiers announced his arrival as he in company of former South African team-mate David Wiese annihilated Multan Sultans in the final five overs for Lahore Qalandars to clinch a drama-packed HBL PSL match in Sharjah by six wickets on Friday.While De Villiers brought Lahore within nine runs of victory in the final over it was the lanky Wiese who smashed Dan Christian over long-off on the final delivery for a six — with four needed — to seal the victory.Lahore, chasing a daunting 201-run target, needed 70 off the last five overs as De Villiers, fired up by vociferous chants of “AB, AB”. He changed his shot in the last second, from a slog sweep towards fine-leg to left hander and guided fast bowler Junaid Khan over the third man boundary for a six in the 18th over — the sight of the HBL PSL 4. That shot was made possible on a free hit after Junaid overstepped while dismissing Wiese in the 18th over, changing the whole complexion of the match. That spoiled Junaid’s figures to 3-39 in four overs after he dismissed Lahore’s top-scorer Fakhar Zaman (35-ball 63 with three sixes and seven boundaries), Salman Butt (17) and Aghan Salman (two).De Villiers and Wiese hit a six each off West Indian Andre Russell in the penultimate over to bring down the target to just nine off six balls but Christian conceded six off the first five balls as tension mounted.But Wiese kept his nerves to hit the winning sixer. De Villiers finished with 29-ball 52 not out with three sixes and as many boundaries while Wiese scored a more aggressive undefeated 20-ball 45 with five sixes. The duo added 98 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket stand.De Villiers said he was happy for his team.”I am pleased for my team,” said Lahore skipper. “I took my time and Wiese took pressure off me and it was a nice partnership. We were under pressure after ten overs but we showed a great attitude.”Multan skipper Shoaib Malik said the match was a treat for a holiday crowd.“Of course, it doesn’t feel good to lose but its cricket,” said Malik. “Yes, you learn a lot from every match. It was a great treat for a holiday crowd.”The win lifted Lahore to third spot (four points with two wins in four games) in the six-team table topped by Quetta (six points in three matches). Peshawar Zalmi have four points in three matches (two wins and a loss) while Multan are fourth, Islamabad United fifth and Karachi Kings sixth.Multan Sultans also batted ruthlessly to post the sixth 200 plus total in all HBL PSL as Vince knocked a fiery 41-ball 84 with seven boundaries and six hits over the ropes. Debutant Umar Siddiq hit 38-ball 53 with two sixes and four boundaries to take their team to a commanding 200-6.Brief Scores: Multan Sultans 200-6 (J. Vince 84, Umar Siddiq 53, S. Lamichanne 3-46)Lahore Qalandars 204-4 (Fakhar Zaman 63, AB de Villiers 52*, D. Wiese 45*,Junaid Khan 3-39).