The battle between the six teams finally draws closer to a conclusion as Multan Sultan and Islamabad United are the last two standing as they have reached the finals, but a winner is yet to come when the battle begins on March 18th.
The build-up
Both teams are now desperate to win the PSL 2024, as Multan has now reached their 4th consecutive PSL final but having lost the last two finals, a choker tag lingers on them. Multan has been able to save its main core players for quite some time now and would be hoping to win another trophy before the main core is upgraded to the upper category and is lost in the next season’s drafts.
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Meanwhile, Islamabad United has gone through a drought where they have not been able to reach the finals ever since Misbah ul Haq retired from the team. Having reached the finals in the inaugural PSL 2016 and then again in 2018 and managing to win both, the United are finally back at it again after 6 years. Shadab Khan would be hoping to finally win a silverware for his team.
The road to the final
The journey for both teams was contrasting as Multan as usual was topping the tables with consistent performance with both bat and ball. By winning 7 games, Multan was the first team to book a spot in the final early on and were on top of the tables, something they had done in the previous seasons
Islamabad took the longer route by managing to win a do-or-die game last Sunday against Multan by chasing a target of 229 and booking a spot for elimination. Followed by two back-to-back wins to reach the finals. It is a repeat for Islamabad from the inaugural PSL 2016 when they came to win the finals after being dead last and managing to win 5 5-match streak.
Mohammad Rizwan vs Shadab Khan; Pakistan’s Captaincy Battle
There have been reports that Mohsin Naqvi is contemplating changing the National team captain, as Mohammad Rizwan has been able to impress everyone with his captaincy and leadership skills in the Sultan camp.
However, the former vice-captain of Pakistan has also got stakeholders interested with the way he has managed to win three do-or-die games and help his team reach the finals.
The job could still change hands and winning the finals or impressing the chairman enough can take the leadership of the National team.
Expected playing 11s
Multan Sultans: Yasir Khan, Mohammad Rizwan, Usman Khan, Jason Charles, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali
Islamabad United: Martin Guptill, Alex Hales, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, Haider Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Hunain Shah, Obed McCoy
Players to watch out for
Usman Khan has been in the form of his life as he managed double hundreds during this tournament and was also able to finish the previous game to help his team reach the finals.
Meanwhile, in the Islamabad Camp, Imad Wasim has just woken up, winning back-to-back Man of the Match awards in the Playoffs. Islamabad will not be out of the game till Imad is there with the bat or ball.
Advantage
Multan Sultan has the advantage with National Stadium Karachi offering assistance to spinners and with having a better allrounder squad with a strong middle order, a great lower order, and the best bowling attack of the tournament.
However, momentum will be with Islamabad who is coming in the final winning 3 important games.
Looking forward to a great finale.
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