Steve Smith, the biggest-money signing in the history of the Pakistan Super League, has opened his account with Multan Sultans in victorious fashion in Lahore.
The inexhaustible 36-year-old globetrotter, making his debut in his eighth different white-ball league in a seventh different country, scored a brisk 31 and was the only player to club three sixes as Australian-powered Multan beat Islamabad United on Saturday.
Played behind closed doors at the Gaddafi Stadium while Pakistan is in the grip of fuel shortages, there were no spectators allowed in to witness the bow of the superstar Smith, who was signed for an approximate $US500,000 ($A725,000) by the ambitious franchise.
Owners of the PSL teams have been lamenting that the sight of the Lahore and Karachi stadiums, the only two in use for the tournament, being empty can only damage the appeal of the league, especially when judged against the full-houses watching the neighbouring Indian Premier League.
Multan have snapped up five Australians in their roster, with Perth Scorchers' mastermind Ashton Turner captaining and former Test captain Tim Paine coaching, with the promise that they'll take an attacking approach to matches.
That was certainly true of their opener as they chased down Islamabad's 8-171 with eight balls to spare.
Smith hit 31 off 23 balls and wicketkeeper Josh Philippe 55 off 35 before Turner played a familiarly assured hand with his unbeaten 43 off 28 deliveries to guide the Sultans to a six-wicket victory.
At the heart of restricting Islamabad, who enjoyed decent contributions from New Zealanders Devon Conway (26 off 23) and Mark Chapman (40 off 21) was the evergreen Peter Siddle, still going strong at age 41.
The Victorian, unquestionably Multan's Sultan of swing, conceded only 29 off his four overs and grabbed the key wicket of Conway.
