United edge Sultans to reach playoffs

RAWALPINDI: The homegrown talent and experience of Imad Wasim as well as brave-hearted Colin Munro eased Islamabad United into the playoffs of the Pakistan Super League 9 following yet another thriller at the Pindi Stadium Sunday.

The last game of the season at the venue provided a befitting excitement as Imad’s super six on the penultimate ball helped the United beat Multan Sultan by three wickets. Set to score a daunting 229 for the win, Islamabad were left to score seven runs on the last two balls with Imad striking six and four to take United into playoffs.

“I missed such an opportunity last year but here I was confident of taking the team home. Ball was coming on my bat and I was sure to score 13 of the last over and required seven on the last two balls,” Imad said following his heroics.

United’s win could not have been possible without Munro’s exciting knock. Hampered by a groin problem, Munro showed his class with a powerful knock up front which set the tone for an exciting finish. He did not pay heed to two repeated blows that Islamabad United suffered at the outset of their innings.

Alex Hales (0) and Agha Salman’s (2) fall with just 4 runs on the board was the worst start United could have imagined. It was then left to Munro and Shadab Khan (54) to mend fences.

The duo put on 141 for the third wicket in less than 11 overs to set up prospects of an exciting finish. Munro though not one hundred percent fit played a gem of innings striking five sixes and nine fours during his 40-ball powerful innings. Shadab was also not far behind striking 31-ball fifty with the help of two sixes and six fours.

“It was a typical Pindi wicket where scoring runs was not all that difficult once you settle down at the wicket. That is what our batsmen proved,” Shadab said. On a day when bowlers faced a nightmare, top spinner Usama Mir conceded 68 in four overs. Sultans however were served well for Abbas Afridi (3-40) in bowling.

Earlier, the stadium was set ablaze by a fiery century by Sialkot-born Usman Khan, now settled in the UAE. He continued his good run with the bat smashing yet another hundred, his second of the season.

Once he completed fifty he was seen going berserk, smashing three more boundaries and two towering sixes during the next three overs. Though Naseem Shah removed Iftikhar Ahmed (13) cheaply, there was no stopping Usman. Even luck was with him as Hunain Shah dropped him at 93 off Mills paving the way for his third PSL hundred.

Usman, who set the fastest PSL hundred record last year, Sunday struck his third and season’s second hundred off just 50 balls. His innings was studded with 15 fours and three sixes. More importantly, he held Multan Sultans’ innings together with some brave counterattacks that saw him striking at will and giving no chance to hapless Islamabad bowlers to make any impression.

Johnson Charles (42) and Yasir Khan (33) also played well. While Yasir gave Multans a dazzling start with a quick-fire knock, Charles’s 86-run stand with Usman for the third wicket gave a real impetus to Sultans’ innings.

Usman becomes the only batsman to score two centuries in a single PSL season while along with Kamran Akmal, he now stands tall with three PSL hundreds each. Usman also set another record by becoming the first batsman to score back-to-back hundreds. Multan Sultans in the process scored the highest total of the season, managing 228-4. Faheem Ashraf (2-32) was the pick of United’s bowlers.