Photo: PSL
Karachi: In the final of PSL 9, Islamabad United defeated Multan Sultans by 2 wickets after a thrilling encounter, claiming their third title.
Played at National Stadium Karachi, Islamabad United chased Multan Sultans’ target of 160 runs with 8 wickets in hand, on the last ball of the last over.
Islamabad United had previously won the title in the first edition of PSL in 2016 and in the third edition in 2018.
From Islamabad United, Martin Guptill scored 50, Asif Khan 30, while Nasim Shah and Colin Munro contributed 17 runs each.
Agha Salman took 10, Shadab Khan 4, Haider Ali 5, and Faheem Ashraf scored one run each.
Hannan Shah, who came in at number eight for batting, hit a winning shot on the last ball, securing victory for the team with 4 runs, while Imad Wasim fell short with 19 runs.
For Multan Sultans, Khushdil Shah and Iftikhar Ahmed took 2 wickets each, while Devdutt Padikkal, Mohammed Ali, and Osama Mir took one wicket each.
Before that, captain Mohammad Rizwan of Multan Sultans had won the toss and decided to bat first. Multan Sultans scored 159 runs for 9 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs. Usman Khan scored 57, Iftikhar Ahmed 32, and Mohammad Rizwan 26 runs were prominent.
Khushdil Shah scored 11 runs, Yasser Khan, Devdutt Padikkal, and Osama Mir scored 6 runs each, Janssen Charles scored 4 runs, and Abbas Afridi scored 1 run before getting out.
Chris Jordan was out for zero, while Mohammad Ali, who came in to bat at number nine, remained not out without scoring any runs.
From Islamabad United, Imad Wasim took 5 wickets and Shadab Khan took 5 wickets.
Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi was also present at the stadium, who will distribute prizes as a special guest at the end of the event.
It is worth noting that this final match of Multan Sultans, which made it to the final for the fourth time, was their third consecutive loss. In the past two editions, Multan Sultans had been defeated by Lahore Qalandars, while they were successful in winning the sixth edition of PSL in 2021.
Squads of both teams:
Islamabad United: Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan (Captain), Azam Khan (Wicket-Keeper), Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Nasim Shah, Hannan Shah, Ebadot Mujeeb
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (Captain and Wicket-Keeper), Yasser Khan, Usman Khan, Janssen Charles, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Chris Jordan, Devdutt Padikkal, Osama Mir, Mohammed Ali, Abbas Afridi