Imad shines as Islamabad United win record third PSL crown

KARACHI: A day after guiding them to the final with his batting heroics against Peshawar Zalmi, Imad Wasim sizzled in his bowling role to help Islamabad United power to a record third HBL PSL crown with a thrilling win against Multan Sultans here at a packed National Bank Stadium in the wee hours of Tuesday.

Imad, who hit a match-winning fifty against Zalmi, picked a haul of 5-23 as Islamabad restricted Multan to 159-9 before star New Zealander Martin Guptill hit a fifty to ensure that United would continue their unbeaten record in PSL finals. As if his bowling exploits weren’t enough, Imad rescued United from a precarious 129-9 in their pursuit of a victory target of 160 with an unbeaten 17-ball 19 during some tense final moments in the final.

Winners in 2016 and 2018, Islamabad were playing their first final in six years. With the victory in the title clash, they have become the first team to win three PSL titles.

The relatively low-scoring final wasn’t without its twists and turns. There was a full house in Karachi for the first time and the packed crowd was in for a treat. First it was the duo of Usman Khan and Iftikhar Ahmed who delighted the fans with some eye-catching strokes despite menacing spells from the likes of Imad, Shadab Khan and pacer Naseem Shah.

Then in run-chase, Guptill showed why he still remains a potent threat for any opposition as he hammered four fours and three sixes in a 34-ball 50. Azam Khan then made a sedate start before hitting four fours and six in his 22-ball 30. Multan struck back with wickets in quick succession before Imad and Naseem Shah put on 30 to level scores. There was one final piece of drama when Naseem fell to Mohammad Ali on the second last ball of the final with scores levelled before his younger brother Hunain hit a last-ball four to seal Islamabad’s first title-winning triumph since 2018.

Earlier, Multan won the toss and opted to bat first on a wicket that looked promising from the batters’ perspective.

But as they say, looks can be deceptive. The pace-spin duo of Naseem Shah and Imad Wasim posed a threat to Multan top order from the word go. Naseem thought he had earned the prized scalp of Rizwan early but just as the Multan skipper neared the boundary rope, replays showed it was a no-ball.

But despite that setback, Islamabad bowled with a lot of spirit, reducing Multan to 14-2 in 2 overs. Rizwan and the in-form Usman Khan then took Multan to relative safety at 67-2 before Rizwan his opposite number Shadab after a run-a-ball 26 that included three fours.

Multan continued to lose wickets at regular intervals but Usman’s 40-ball 57 that included 7 fours and a six and a scintillating cameo of 32 off 20 balls from the big-hitting Iftikhar took Multan to a somewhat decent total of 159-9. Imad was the pick of the bowlers as he took the key wickets of Yasir Khan, David Willey and Johnson Charles. Shadab took 3-32.