Islamabad United defeated Multan Sultans by four wickets to end the league stage of the Pakistan Super League 2021. With this win, United ended up with eight wins from 10 games and earned 16 points from the possible 20 to top the points table. Sultans on the other hand suffered their first defeat of the Abu Dhabi leg of the tournament, having won four games in a row to qualify for the Playoffs.
The match went up to the last over thanks to some lethargic approach by both the teams. Chasing a modest total of 150 to win the game, United got off to go a start as the new openers Umar Amin and the wicketkeeper-batsman Muhammad Akhlaq added 39 for the first wicket before the latter was removed by Larkana express Shahnawaz Dhani. The highest wicket-taker in the tournament so far, Dhani also picked up the wicket of Amin in his next over.
United skipper Shadab Khan finally found some form as he hit 35 off 27 balls to get the team closer to the total. He was removed from Muhammad Umar, who was playing just his second game of the season. Asif Ali and Hussain Talat then got the men in red near the target just before a mini-collapse unfolded to create some drama at the end.
When Sultans needed less than run a ball, Brandon King was removed by a ripper of a top spinner by Usman Qadir, who was playing his first game of the Abu Dhabi leg. Before that Qadir had already removed Asif Ali. In the last over, with four to defend, Blessing Muzarabani was called in by Mohammad Rizwan.
According to the set plan, Muzarabani bowled bouncer and Talat top-edged to deep fine leg where Dhani pulled a blinder of a catch to set the Sultans dug out on fire and made them stand and applaud his fielding. However, Iftikhar Ahmed completed the three required runs even as a leg before the wicket appeal was made and rejected on the last delivery as Ahmed and Mohammad Wasim Jr. scampered through for the winning run.
Reacting to the win, United skipper Shadab praised his rookie bowler Wasim Jr. for a great performance. “It was his (Wasim) effort that has paid dividends. He wanted to prove himself and I just backed him,” he said. Talking about the challenge of facing Multan once again in the Qualifiers, he said, “ They are a tough team, they are in good form and it's about who handles pressure better. We'll try to ensure that we do the simple things right.”
Earlier in the evening, Multan Sultans were invited to bat after losing the toss. Both teams, secured of a 1-2 finish at the points table, chose to test their bench strength. Multan, after a steady start by openers Shan Masood and Rizwan, faltered in the later phase of the innings. Even after Masood’s 59, the Sultans could manage only 149 as they got bundled out in 20 overs. Wasim Jr. was at his very best for United, finishing up with 4-31 in his four overs spell and then going on to win the Man of the Match award.
Reacting after the loss, Multan skipper Rizwan said, “I am happy with the effort as we kept fighting till the end and that's the kind of quality we expect from the team. Hopefully, we can beat them in the next game.”
Courtesy finishing second on the points table, Rizwan and his team would indeed meet United in the very next game, which would be the Qualifier of the tournament and will be played on June 21 at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.