KARACHI: Islamabad United outplayed defending champions Peshawar Zalmi in the final by three wickets to lift the Pakistan Super League (PSL) title for second time at National Stadium Karachi here on Sunday evening. Chasing target of 149, Islamabad, the winners of inaugural PSL in Dubai in 2016, raced home for the loss of seven scalps. The highlight of the match was Islamabad’s opener Luke Ronchi’s rapid 52 off 26 deliveries, making Peshawar’s fighting total look relatively easy. He was ably assisted by Sahibzada Farhan who made 44 off 33 balls. The duo put on 96 for the opening partnership in under 9 overs, needing just over 4 runs an over in their chase of 149.
The Peshawar pacers appeared to have brought their team back into the game in the late over as Islamabad wickets fell in quick succession. This extraordinary collapse, where Islamabad didn’t so much become nervous as forget how to play the game of cricket, saw them lose six wickets for 20 runs, and all of a sudden scoring a single run seemed like conquering a mountain. But Asif Ali’s clutch 26-run cameo under tense conditions helped Islamabad reclaim the title before a full house. For Peshawar, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz and Chris Jordan claimed two wickets each. The match marked the first time a PSL final was played in Karachi, as thousands of fans flocked to the sold-out stadium under tight security. It was also the city’s biggest cricket match in nine years, after terrorist attacks resulted in the suspension of international cricket in Pakistan.
Earlier, a late blitz by fast bowler Wahab lifted Peshawar to a fighting total of 148 runs against Islamabad. The tailender offered resistance to the JP Duminy-led team with his 28-runs off 14 balls innings, in which he scored four boundaries and one six, and gave a margin to the ‘Men in Yellow’ bowlers. Peshawar had troubled start as their key batsmen failed to deliver as per expectations. Spinner Samit Patel gave an early breakthrough to Islamabad by striking down in-form batsman Kamran Akmal on his very first over of the game. Later in his second over, Muhammad Hafeez fell prey to his flight and gave an easy catch to the bowler on eight runs.
The next to be returning back to the pavilion was opener, Andre Fletcher, as the Windies batsman wasn’t able to time a flipper from Shadab Khan, leading the ball to hit pads in the line of wickets. Hussain Talat ended innings of Chris Jordan and Saad Nasim on the respective scores of 36 and two runs. Shadab also picked the prized wicket of Peshawar skipper Darren Sammy on the 15.4 overs of the game with his googly delivery, and on the very next delivery dismissed Umaid Asif after taking a review. Though the next batsman in, Hasan, denied him from hat-trick. For Islamabad, leg-spinner Shadab was the most successful bowler as he claimed three wickets.
Published in Daily Times, March 26th 2018.