ISLAMABAD: Islamabad United and table-toppers Multan Sultans will lock horns today, on Monday, at the National Stadium in Karachi for the grand Orion trophy of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 9th edition.
The toss for the PSL 9 final will be held at 830pm Pakistan time and the first ball of the match is expected to be bowled at 9pm.
Multan, who qualified for the final after beating Peshawar Zalmi in the qualifier, will be playing their fourth consecutive final. They were crowned champions in the 2021 edition and finished as runners-up in the subsequent two editions, wherein Lahore Qalandars clinched two back-to-back titles.
After finishing third on the table, Islamabad defeated Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi in the two eliminators to secure the coveted berth in the final. This will be Islamabad’s first final since 2018, when they last won the PSL title.
Multan skipper Mohammad Rizwan said he was proud of the way his side played in the tournament, maintaining a “bold and fearless approach.”
“We have a solid team that has all the bases covered. Our locals, foreigners and emerging players have shone and produced some extraordinary performances. What further helps us is the fact that our team has gelled really well in the last four weeks,” Rizwan said in a statement.
“We need to stick to our process. I am sure if our execution is perfect, the people of Multan and south Punjab will get a favorable result, God willing!“
Shadab Khan, who captains Islamabad, hailed his team for “standing tall in crucial situations” and getting through to the final after a long hiatus of five years.
“This is what we intended while assembling the squad and all the players have responded very well throughout the group stage as well as the playoffs. Islamabad winning the trophy for the third time will be a great achievement and I’m looking forward to whatever challenge Multan Sultans will pose,” he said.
“Hopefully, our batters and bowlers will step up in a spirited manner as they have done throughout the season and will make us champions.”
In the lead-up to the playoffs, Multan Sultans secured 14 points after winning seven out of their 10 games. Islamabad finished with five wins, whereas their home game against Lahore Qalandars was washed out. As a result, Islamabad had 11 points, equaling with the fourth-placed Quetta.
Multan’s Rizwan and Usman Khan are the second and third highest run-getters of the tournament thus far, only behind Peshawar Zalmi’s Babar Azam who ended PSL 9 with 569 runs in 11 innings, including five half-centuries and one century.
Rizwan has accumulated 382 runs, with four half-centuries. Usman, having appeared in only six games, has made 373 runs on the back of two centuries and a half-century.
Colin Munro, with 309 runs from nine games with three fifties, is the highest run-getter for Islamabad United. Islamabad’s skipper Shadab Khan has also starred with the bat and ball alike this season. In 11 games, he has produced 301 runs, including three half-centuries, and taken 11 wickets.
Usama Mir, leader of Multan’s spin attack, is the current leading wicket-taker of the tournament, holding the Inverex Fazal Mahmood Cap. He has 23 scalps in 11 games, including one six-wicket haul. His current tally of 23 is the best by any spinner in one edition of PSL and is only two wickets behind Hasan Ali’s record of 25 wickets, the most by any bowler in one edition, which has not been bested since 2019.
Multan’s right-arm pacer Mohammad Ali, playing his maiden PSL tournament, has 18 wickets in 11 games, the most by any pacer in the tournament thus far.
Naseem Shah, who made his move to Islamabad United ahead of PSL 9, has the most wickets for his team thus far. Assuming his role as Islamabad’s pace spearhead, the right-arm seamer has grabbed 15 wickets in 10 games.
