With an unrestrained show of power-hitting, Rilee Rossouw broke PSL records and made the pursuit of 243 seem easy. Along the way, he advanced the Multan Sultans into the PSL playoffs by making the joint-fastest fifty in the competition, turning it into its quickest-ever hundred (beating himself in the process).
After scoring 240 or more in each game, Peshawar Zalmi has already dropped two straight games and is still unsure of their playoff position. They were attacked by Jason Roy a few nights before, and now it was Rilee Rossouw time as the South African juggernaut orchestrated the second-highest chase in T20 history with five balls to spare, smashing eight sixes and 12 fours.
Rilee Rossouw hits another PSL hundred
Throughout his innings, Rilee Rossouw’s biggest gap between goals was six balls. All five of his initial scoring strokes were fours or sixes. And he carried on. He had a fifty by the time he had faced 17 deliveries. He only ran two of those runs. T-w-o. One of South Africa’s greatest and brightest players had been removed from the spotlight by that diversion into England county cricket via Kolpak.
Also Read: Qalandars march into Qualifier after Fakhar’s swashbuckling 115
Yet, he’s back today with stats that are hardly credible. He has kept up an average above 30 and a strike rate over 140 through 297 T20s. Other individuals who have accomplished it include Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, David Warner, and AB de Villiers. Rilee Rossouw was supported by a capable team. Pollard contributed with 52 points off of just 24 balls. The foundation of their chase was their third-wicket stand, which lasted 99 runs off 43 balls.
Also Read: Rashid Khan with a magical spell against Islamabad United in PSL
Abbas Afridi, a 21-year-old seamer who was bowling for the Sultans at the time, recorded 4 for 39. In the course of nine deliveries and barely eight runs, he took three of their wickets. That was significant in a match when they were scored two to a ball. Similarly, the fifties of Saim Ayub (58 off 33) and Babar Azam (73 off 39) were.
Also Read: PSL 8: Sarfaraz calls Nawaz ‘history maker captain’
The two Zalmi openers were tremendously fluid at the beginning of the game, laying such a solid foundation that they were able to continue striking despite the speed bumps that Afridi’s spell had placed in their path. They would have been pretty satisfied with their efforts at this stage. The rest is now in the past.
Also Read: Babar Azam hits maiden PSL century, breaks records