In the final of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9, Islamabad United became the champion after defeating Multan Sultans by 2 wickets in an exciting match.
In the final match played at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi, Multan Sultans won the toss and decided to bat first and scored 159 runs for the loss of 9 wickets in the allotted 20 overs. Islamabad United completed the target on the last ball of the 20th overs, Martin Guptill scored 50 runs and Azam Khan played an important role in the success of the team by scoring 30 runs.
United all-rounder Imad Wasim remained unbeaten on 19 runs, while Colin Munro and Naseem Shah played 17 runs each. The first two wickets of Multan Sultans fell for a total of 14, but Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Khan put on a 53-run partnership to pull the team out of trouble.
Rizwan returned to the pavilion by scoring 26 runs, but the players who came after him could not play enough innings, but Usman Khan’s responsible innings of 57 runs helped his team’s score. In the closing moments, Iftikhar Ahmed played a smoky innings of 32 runs and took Sultans total to 159 runs for 9 wickets. Apart from him, no other player could show sufficient performance.
Islamabad United’s Imad Wasim took 5 more and Shadab Khan took 3 wickets to break the back of Multan Sultans’ batting line.
Multan Sultans qualified for the final by defeating Peshawar Zalmi in the qualifier, while Islamabad United qualified for the final by defeating Quetta Gladiators in the first eliminator and Peshawar Zalmi in the second eliminator.
The Islamabad team for the finals consists of captain Shadab Khan, Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Salman Ali Agha, Azam Khan, Hyder Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Haneen Shah and Obaid McCoy.
Multan Sultans team consists of captain Muhammad Rizwan, Yasir Khan, Usman Khan, Johnson Charles, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Chris Jordan, David Valley, Usama Mir, Muhammad Ali and Abbas Afridi.
