Seventeen-year-old Peshawar Zalmi pace bowler Ali Raza blew through Multan Sultans' middle-order in the PSL today (April 19), sparking a huge collapse in a breakthrough performance.
After Peshawar posted a big total for bottom-placed Multan to chase, they made a positive start with Shai Hope and Usman Khan, despite captain Mohammad Rizwan falling early. Multan reached 70-2 in the eighth over in pursuit of 228, when Raza entered the fray.
He struck in his first over into the attack, snaring Kamran Ghulam with a back of a length ball which cramped the Pakistan international for room. Alzarri Joseph took a simple catch at long drawing a big celebration from the teenager. He then went bang, bang at the start of his next over, getting Michael Bracewell with his first ball.
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Bracewell had looked to hit a short ball from Raza back over the bowler's head, but instead hit a catch back to him in his follow through. It was a sharp take from Raza, who had to move to his right still off balance from his delivery stride and take the ball at head height. Another big celebration from the bowler followed, leaping into the air and pumping his fists.
Off the very next ball, Raza was celebrating again. He shattered Ashton Turner's stumps with a zinging delivery straight up, nipping the ball back in off the seam from a back of a length again. Turner was looking to drive, but instead let the ball through the gate to set the bails alight. That left Raza on a hat-trick faced with Iftikhar Ahmed as the new batter, with Raza having taken three wickets in his previous five deliveries. Iftikhar blocked an off-stump ball into the covers to see out the hat-trick ball.
Just three runs came off the final three balls of that over, and a single off the first delivery of Raza's next to bring Iftikhar back on strike. Once again banging the ball into the pitch, Iftikhar looked to go big. He picked up the length and heaved into the leg side. He didn't get quite enough of it, however, finding Abdul Samad on the boundary.
Raza finished his spell with figures of 4-21, with Peshawar Zalmi winning the match by 120 after bowling Multan Sultans out for 107.
Who is Ali Raza?
Raza is a 17-year-old right-arm quick who made his PSL debut this season. He can touch speeds of 90 mph already. Raza played for Pakistan in the 2024 Under-19 World Cup as a 15-year-old, picking nine wickets in three matches, including a nearly match-winning burst of 4-34 in the semi-final against Australia.
Raza already has 32 wickets from his six first-class games at an average of 20.50, to go with 17 List A wickets from 11 games.
Watch: Ali Raza takes four wickets in breakthrough spell
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