Multan Sultans have been the top performing team in PSL over the past four years, finishing as runners-up three times and winning the championship once.
That incredible consistency was always going to be difficult to maintain. But not many expected it to be this bad.
On Tuesday, Multan succumbed to a record defeat against Quetta Gladiators, making it their sixth loss in seven games.
Mohammad Rizwan's Multan team were shot out for just 89 in Lahore, with Quetta chasing down the target in a mere 6.5 overs and all wickets in hand. It was the biggest margin of victory in PSL history in terms of balls remaining.
The defeat further dented Multan's dwindling chances of qualifying for the PSL play-offs. So do they still have a chance?
Multan Sultans qualification chances for playoffs
According to the PSL format, the top four out of the six teams at the end of the league phase enter the play-offs.
All teams play 10 matches each and over the years, the cut-off for play-offs has generally been five wins out of 10. Multan currently have just one win in seven games, and can only go up to four wins and eight points if they win their remaining games.
Realistically, it is the end of the campaign for them as they need a lot of elements to fall into place to progress to the next stage.
However, it is not impossible. In the 2021/22 season, Islamabad United qualified for the play-offs despite winning just four and losing six out of the 10 league games. Islamabad were tied on eight points with Quetta, and qualified on the basis of net run rate.
Since the pool of teams in PSL is small relative to the number of teams that qualify, sides rarely get knocked out of the competition early.
So for Multan to qualify for the play-offs, they need to win their remaining three matches and hope no more than three teams go above eight points. Then, they can jostle for the fourth play-off spot with another team on eight points.
Rizwan hopeful
Multan have not seen such a dire situation recently in the PSL. But captain Rizwan said all is not lost and hoped the team can turn things around in the final stages of the campaign.
The wicketkeeper batter admitted that the wicket in Lahore was not an 89 all out surface and wanted more from the top order.
"I don't think the pitch was that bad. It was challenging, but definitely a 150-160 kind of surface. Unfortunately, we were guilty of some poor shot selection. Credit to their bowlers for sticking to the right lengths and executing well," said Rizwan.
Despite the loss, Rizwan remained hopeful. But he admitted he does not like to rely on other teams for qualification.
"I still believe that if we play good cricket, we can give ourselves the best chance. We're not out of it yet, but personally, I don't like having to rely on other teams to help us qualify," he added.
It was a peculiar match for Rizwan as he carried his bat after opening the innings, remaining unbeaten on 44 from 44 balls, as most of the batting line-up got out for single digits.
