Multan Sultans’ left-hand batter, Rilee Rossouw, lauded his teammate Ihsanullah’s remarkable performance in the game against Quetta Gladiators, where the young paceman’s fiery pace and bounce led to him taking five wickets and limiting Quetta’s score to just 110 runs. Rossouw expressed his admiration for Ihsanullah, who started playing cricket only a few years ago and has already achieved a great deal of success. He wished the rising star well in his future career and hoped he would continue to bowl fast for their team.
In a post-match presser, Rossouw exclaimed, “Fantastic, what a performance he put in today. Must be a career-best for him, five wickets and bowling at 150 km/h, and I think it was the fastest ball.” Rossouw added that he was “really really proud of the man” and wished him all the best for his career going forward. He emphasized that Ihsanullah’s success was particularly impressive given that he was new to the game.
Regarding the pitch, Rossouw noted that it had improved for batting in the second innings, but Multan Sultans had bowled well in the first innings when the ball was turning more. He also pointed out that Quetta Gladiators’ batters were hesitant in their strokeplay due to Ihsanullah’s flurry of wickets, which gave momentum to Multan Sultans.
“I thought the pitch got a lot better in the second innings to bat on, like I mentioned, we bowled really well in the first innings where the ball was turning a bit more. I think Quetta were a bit tentative in their strokeplay because they were losing wickets, and it is not a natural flow where you can go and outscore runs. We had momentum on our side, and we batted well in these conditions.”
When asked about playing against his former franchise Quetta Gladiators, Rossouw said he respected every opposition he played against and that changing teams was just one of those things. He emphasized that it was about playing good cricket, and he was pleased that he scored runs in the match.
“I wouldn’t say payback, not at all. I love Quetta, and they looked after me from the beginning. It is just one of those things where you change teams; I respect every opposition I play against, whether I have played in the team or not. But it is fantastic to score runs no matter who the opposition is. And unfortunately for Quetta, it is against them like most of the time, which is quite nice for me personally. But there is no payback, no nothing. It is just about playing good cricket.”
Rossouw acknowledged that the Karachi Kings, led by Babar Azam, would have plans against Multan Sultans, just as they have plans for them. He hoped to maintain his form and momentum going forward, saying, “Like I said, today was my day. Maybe tomorrow or the next is Rizwan or Shan’s day. Just happy that I scored runs today, and like I mentioned, I want to keep my form and momentum. Babar and their bowling will obviously have plans against us just as we have plans for Babar and his side.”
