2024-03-20 06:36:45
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) final on Monday night between Islamabad United and Multan Sultans was a tight affair. Islamabad became champions after six years after winning the last ball in a thrilling final at the Karachi Stadium.
On this day, Multan batted first and scored 159 runs after losing 9 wickets. In reply, Islamabad lost 8 wickets with four runs off the last ball to ensure victory. Through this, Islamabad set the record of winning the maximum three titles in the history of PSL. Earlier they won the championship in 2016 and 2018. On the other hand, Multan is blue due to three consecutive final losses. Earlier they also lost the finals in 2022 and 2023.
However, the hero of Islamabad’s victory was Imad Wasim. He took 5 wickets for just 23 runs in 4 overs with the ball first to keep Multan’s run within reach. Then he left the field after playing an unbeaten innings of 19 runs with the bat to ensure the victory of the team. He was also the man of the match in the final. And Islamabad captain Shadab Khan became the series best with 305 runs and 14 wickets.
On this day, Multan could not take advantage of winning the toss and batting. They were under pressure after losing 2 wickets in the beginning. From there Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Khan tried to handle the pressure. The pair broke when Rizwan returned when the team scored 67 runs after 9.5 overs. 26 runs in 3 fours came from the captain’s bat.
After 85 runs, the new batsman Johnson Charles returns with a personal 6 runs. Usman Khan, who was struggling at one end, returned with 114 runs. He scored 57 runs with 7 fours and 1 six.
Multan quickly lost four wickets from there. Usama Mir (6) for 120 runs, Khushdil Shah (11) and Chris Jordan (0) for 126 runs and Abbas Afridi (1) for 127 runs. From there, Multan’s team collection went up to 159 with the bat of Iftikhar Ahmed. He played an unbeaten innings of 32 runs off 20 balls with 3 fours and 3 sixes.
Shadab Khan took 3 wickets out of Imad’s 5 wickets with the ball. He took these wickets with 32 runs in 4 overs.
Coming down to chase runs, Islamabad also lost 3 wickets after scoring 55 runs. Colin Munro (17), Agha Salman (10) and Shadab Khan (4) returned quickly. From there, Martin Guptill and Azam Khan put the team on the fighting stage with a partnership of 47 runs.
Guptill returned with a fifty at the head of the team’s 102 runs. He scored 50 runs in 32 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes. Azam also returned with 121 runs. He scored 30 runs off 22 balls with 4 fours and 1 six. After that, when Hyder Ali (5) got out for 128 runs and Fahim Ashraf (1) got out for 129 runs, Islamabad fell into disaster again.
But Imad and Nasim Shah managed to keep the team fighting. The two put on a 16-ball 30-run partnership to take the team’s total to 159. That is, score levels. 1 run was needed from the last two balls to win. But Nasim got out on the fifth ball scoring 17 runs off 9 balls with 2 fours and 1 six. Islamabad needed 1 run to win from the last ball. The new batsman Hunain Shah secured the team’s victory by hitting a boundary through backward point and short third man. And all the team players, coaches-officials, fans-supporters cheered.
Multan’s Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed took 2 wickets each with the ball.