Opting to bat first, the Sultans managed to register a subpar total on the board in the PSL 9 final despite Usman Khan’s anchoring half-century and Iftikhar Ahmed’s late onslaught.
The Sultans got off to a dismal start to their innings as their young opener Yasir Khan (6) fell victim to Imad Wasim in the second over.
Promoted to bat at No.3, vice-captain David Willey (6) had a brief stay at the crease as he too, fell victim to Imad after hitting the latter for a six.
Following the slump, Usman Khan then joined his skipper Mohammad Rizwan in the middle and the duo launched recovery.
The pair added 53 runs for the third wicket before Rizwan fell victim to his United counterpart Shadab Khan in the 10th over after scoring a run-a-ball 26.
Usman then took reigns of the Sultans’ batting expedition and put together brief partnerships with Johnson Charles and Khushdil Shah before perishing in the 16th over.
He remained the top-scorer for the Sultans with a gutsy 57 off 40 deliveries, laced up with seven boundaries and a six.
His dismissal sparked a lower middle-order collapse, triggered by Imad Wasim’s sensational last over, who returned with tremendous bowling figures of 5/22 in his four overs.
Consequently, the Sultans had been reduced to 127/9 in 17 overs before Iftikhar Ahmed launched a counterattack.
The right-handed batter smashed three boundaries and as many sixes on his way to a blistering 32-run cameo which came off just 20 deliveries.
Besides Imad, skipper Shadab chipped in for the United with the ball, picking up three wickets for 32 runs in his quota of four overs.