Karachi ready for PSL final

KARACHI: The stage is set for what will be the biggest cricket match in Karachi in almost a decade. The HBL Pakistan Super League final to be played at the newly-renovated National Stadium might not be an international game but when it comes to magnitude it will be the match of the year for Pakistanis.

And the way defending champions Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United — the two finalists have played in the lead up to the title clash — Sunday’s finale is expected to be the perfect climax for the month-long T20 league. The visiting teams and officials have been provided with presidential-level security with thousands of security personnel deployed to ensure smooth staging of the final.

The final comes just a week before a highly-anticipated three-match Twenty20 International series against the West Indies to be played in Karachi from April 1-3. “It’s a great occasion for Karachi,” Shahid Afridi, who lives in Karachi, told ‘The News’.