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Karachi is the winner today when defending champions Peshawar Zalmi took on Islamabad United at the National Stadium in the final of the Pakistan Super League’s third edition.
Today's PSL final was being billed as Karachi’s biggest match of the decade, the last Test and one-day international were played against Sri Lanka in February 2009.
The grand finale began with a glitzy closing ceremony in which performances by Aima Baig, Farhan Saeed, Shehzad Roy, Strings and Ali Zafar enthralled the 30,000 plus crowd.
Match Summary
Despite a strong public support, defending champions Peshawar Zalmi failed to retain the title as Islamabad United defeated them by three wickets with 19 balls remaining to lift the glittering trophy for the second time in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) here at the jam-packed National Stadium on Sunday night.
Zalmi struggle to reach 148-9
Late-order batsman Wahab Riaz made a 14-ball 28 to take Peshawar Zalmi to a moderate total of 148 for nine against Islamabad United in the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) -3 here at the jam-packed National Stadium on Sunday.
Batting first, after winning the toss, Peshawar Zalmi made a disastrous start losing their three top order batsmen for just 38.
Then Chris Jordan and Liam Dawson got together to take their team out of trouble and added 52 runs for the fourth wicket stand.
Unfortunately, Jordan made an exit after hitting three sixes and a four in his 36 from 26 balls, the Zalmi’s collapse began and they soon were 121 for nine in the 18th over.
However, it was Wahab who provided some resistance, scoring an unbeaten 28 off 14 balls with four boundaries and a six.
Leg-spinner Shadab Khan was the most successful bowler for Islamabad United, capturing three wickets for 25 runs, followed by Hussain Talat (2-18) and Samit Patel (2-26).
09:00 pm
Pakistan Peoples' Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari arrives at the stadium.
07:30 pm
Peshawar Zalmi captain Darren Sammy won the toss and elected to bat against Islamabad United here at the jam-packed National Stadium on Sunday.
Jean-Paul Duminy is leading Islamabad United in place of Misbah-ul-Haq, who has been ruled out of the game because of an injury.
There is no change in Peshawar Zalmi team where as Islamabad United have brought in Chadwick Walton in place of Alex Hales.
Teams
Peshawar Zalmi XI: Kamran Akmal, Andre Fletcher, Mohammad Hafeez. Saad Nasim, Liam Dawson, Darren Sammy, Chris Jordan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Umaid Wasif, Sameen Gul.
Islamabad United XI: Luke Ronchi, Chadwick Walton, JP Duminy, Sahibzada Farhan, Hussain Talat, Asif Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Ammad Butt, Mohammad Sami, Samit Patel.
06:45 pm
Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi have reached Karachi to watch the final along with Adviser to the Prime Minister on Finance Miftah Ismail, Senator Musadik Malik, Minister for Information Marriyum Aurangzeb and State Minister for Water and Power Abid Sher Ali.
06:35 pm
Zalmi skipper Darren Sammy came to the stage and said that he was seeing yellow colour everywhere in the stadium which means people of Karachi were supporting Peshawar. He thanked the fans to come to the stadium for supporting them.
Sammy made his entry to the stage saying Assalam-o-Alaikum and concluded his talk with Pakistan Zindabad.
06:15 pm
South African player JP Duminy:
Assalam o Alaikum Karachi! Thrilled to be here, it’s been a tough campaign but we are ready for the final.
06:00 pm
Chairman Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Najam Sethi, before the colourful closing ceremony took the stage, thanked the crowd for coming in great numbers. He also praised Federal Government, Sindh Govt, Police, Rangers and the Armed Forces for making the PSL final a great success.
Today is the historic day for us, the PCB chief said, adding that Karachi is now ready to host more international cricket. 'West Indies is coming to play here next month.'
05:10 pm
Considering the time-consuming security checks, Pakistan Cricket Board has extended the time for spectators to enter the stadium by two hours. Director Media PCB Amjad Bhatti said that the ticket holders can now enter the venue till 07:00 pm.
04:55 pm
Teams have arrived for the big match. Video footage show both the teams entering into the stadium under heavy security.
04:15 pm
Crediting PML-N government for bringing cricket back to Karachi, Maryam Nawaz has thanked former prime minister Nawaz Sharif for today’s PSL final in the provincial capital.
‘International cricket returns to Karachi that once was a terror-stricken city,’ she tweeted. Even PPP govt under Asif Zardari couldn't do it, she added.
03:40 pm
03:00 pm
Billion-dollar PSL?
It’s still too early to have facts and figures of the business side of the PSL but a conservative estimate will put its brand value between 600-800 million dollars. You add PCB’s plans to have half of next year’s season in Pakistan to the equation and you can have a league that is worth a billion dollars. Read the full story here .
02:15 pm
Sindh government has invited Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa and other prominent officials to attend the final match of the third edition of Pakistan Super League.
According to spokesman for the Chief Minister House, Syed Murad Ali Shah has sent invitation letters to the prime Minister, the army chief , chief ministers and governors from all four provinces to attend the final match.
01:57 pm
Maryam Aurangzeb, Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, has welcomed the revival of cricket in Karachi after almost a decade. In a statement, she said that PML-N has brought back the glory, the city of lights was famous for.
12:15 pm
The gates are now open for the spectators after the Rangers took over the security and the clearance was given by the security officials.
Match preview
Zalmi will be looking to make it two in a row when they take on Islamabad United. The defending champions, have won their last four matches at a stretch and will look to capitalise on the momentum to conquer United, easily the most successful team of PSL 3.
While Zalmi will be hoping that their one-man demolition squad, Kamran Akmal, will click again United will be looking towards the in-form Luke Ronchi to help them regain the coveted crown.
Both men have dominated PSL this season and are the chief reasons why their teams are in a position to take a shot at the crown.
Kamran Akmal, Pakistan’s discarded wicketkeeper-batsman, has once again proved to be a match-winner as he has helped Zalmi win three of their last four knockout games. In the playoff against Karachi Kings at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, Kamran was simply unstoppable. He is the highest scorer of the tournament with 424 runs from 12 matches and would go all out to finish PSL on a high.
If he gets going tonight then United will struggle to stay in the game.
“Kamran is in red-hot form,” said Darren Sammy, Peshawar’s captain, who hoped that his team will win its fifth knockout game in a row to defend the title.
But if Kamran is in top gear then same could be true about Ronchi. The seasoned New Zealander was snubbed by the IPL but that league’s teams must be regretting now. The aggressive batsman is the third highest run-getter of PSL 3 with 383 runs.
Asked whether Akmal and Ronchi could once again play lead roles in the final, JP Duminy who is likely to lead Islamabad United said that it would be the team adapting to the conditions in Karachi which will have the upper hand.
Misbah-ul-Haq, Islamabad’s veteran captain is expected to miss the final because of a hairline fracture in his wrist.
Weather
The weather is warm yet pleasant and the playing conditions at the National Stadium are expected to be batting-friendly. The final has been sold out.
National Stadium Karachi
The inaugural Test match was played at the National Stadium, Karachi between Pakistan and India from February 26 to March 1, 1955 and it became a fortress of Pakistan cricket.
Pakistan were never defeated at this ground in 34 Tests from 1955 to 2000, when they were beaten by England after winning 17 Tests. That was their only Test defeat so far at the ground.
In all, 41 Test matches have been played at this ground, the last one was played against Sri Lanka on February 21-25, 2009.
The first One-day International played at the National Stadium was against West Indies on November 21, 1980. Since then, 46 ODIs were played and the last one was played on January 21, 2009 against Sri Lanka.
Besides, three matches of the world Cup 1987 and two matches of the World Cup 1996 (including a quarterfinal) were staged at this ground.
The only Twenty20 International was played against Bangladesh on April 20, 2008.
Now the final of the Pakistan Super League (third edition) is being played at the NSK, though it is not an international T20 match but it involves a few international cricketers from various countries. So it is after nine years that a match, involving international players, is being played here.
