Clinical Multan Sultans guarantee a top-two finish cushion.

They crushed Gladiators by 79 runs, but there's still a chance for both sides to win the PSL championship.

Scoreboard

Tuesday's Pakistan Super League match saw table-toppers Multan Sultans finish their regular season with a 79-run victory over Quetta Gladiators, thanks to the combined efforts of legspinner Usama Mir and fast bowler David Willey, who shared six wickets and 106 runs.

With seven victories, Sultans topped the points standings. On Thursday, they will play Peshawar Zalmi, who is ranked second with twelve points, in the qualifier. The winner advances to the final.

For the redesigned Gladiators, who will be participating in their first PSL playoffs in four years, it served as a wake-up call. On Thursday, they take on Islamabad United in the Eliminator.

After they were put to bat, the West Indies' skipper Johnson Charles (53) and captain Muhammad Rizwan (69), both scored half century, helped the Sultans to 185 for 4.

The Gladiators' pursuit was ruined in the third over as Willey (3-22) trapped Jason Roy leg before wicket and ran-out Saud Shakeel (14) to continue Roy's recent run of bad fortune.

During the powerplay, Willey then perfectly yorked back captain Rilee Rossouw's leg stump, and Laurie Evans spooned a dolly to midwicket.

The tournament's best wicket-taker, Mir (3-22), then removed the Gladiators' highest-scorer, Omair Yousuf (37) and swiftly went through the remaining wickets to give Sultans an overwhelming victory with almost four overs remaining.

Earlier, Rizwan hit his fourth half-century of the year, Charles escalated the pressure in the last overs with a 29-ball knock, and Iftikhar Ahmed completed the perfect match with a blistering 20 off just eight balls.

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