Multan Sultans 186 for 3 (Farhan 68, Philippe 56, Amir 2-32) beat Rawalpindiz 182 for 8 (Billings 56*, Ghulam 35, Faisal Akram 4-31) by seven wickets

This tournament has been kind to chasing teams, so Rawalpindiz knew they were up against it. With Naseem Shah ruled out, they needed a big effort from Mohammad Amir, one they looked like getting when he snared Steve Smith in his first over. However, the regular breakthroughs Rawalpindiz sniffed never materialized as Farhan and Philippe began to take control.

That dominance was rubber-stamped when Farhan decided to take the attack to Amir himself, smashing two sixes off the first two balls of his next over. It helped Sultans sign off the Powerplay by scoring 58, an advantage they pressed home against Rawalpindiz’s thin bowling attack. Philippe walloped Mohammad Amir Khan around for 16 in the eighth over before the pair plundered four sixes off Rishad Hossain in an over that just about made the game safe at the halfway mark.

From thereon, it was a Rawalpindiz procession. A decent yorker from Amir Khan removed Farhan while Mohammad Amir sent Philippe back, but both had scored whirlwind half-centuries, and by now the asking rate was barely over a run a ball. Shan Masood and Ashton Turner made light work of it.

In 27 balls between the eighth and 12th over, Rawalpindiz mustered just 28, losing three big wickets in the process, including a wickedly clever topspinner that accounted for Daryl Mitchell. Dian Forrester smashed Mohammad Nawaz for three successive sixes to inject a bit of impetus into the innings, but there weren’t enough men to give him company.