KARACHI: The ninth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League is set to culminate in a title-deciding clash between a side for which finals have been a curse lately and a team which doesn’t know how to lose one.

Here at the National Bank Stadium on Monday, Multan Sultans will play their third PSL final in a row, the first of which resulted in their maiden trophy, but the other two saw them go down to Lahore Qalandars — by 42 runs 2022 and by an agonising margin of one run last year.

As they go for another shot at glory, their opponents will be Islamabad United, who have made it to the final for the first time in six seasons, but on both the two occasions they were involved in the title clash — 2016 and 2018 — they were crowned the champions.

Led by Pakistan’s star all-rounder Shadab Khan, United have arrived in the final with just the right momentum, fueled by a resurgent win over Peshawar Zalmi in the second Eliminator on Saturday.

United had chased down 229 runs to beat Sultans in their last league match before that, giving them a psychological edge over the Mohammad Rizwan-led unit.

Ending up as runners-up in the last two editions may seem like a matter of hard luck for the Sultans, but that’s not how the franchise’s players are looking at it. They have been directed by their captain Rizwan to put in even more effort on Monday.

“Last year we lost by one run, we have lost three matches this season and that too very close margins,” Sultans batter Usman Khan observed while talking to Dawn on Saturday. “Rizwan tells us to make sure that we work hard to avoid that one ball or the one moment that may potentially let us down at the end of the game.”

Rizwan’s active nature on the ground as a leader of his pack and his shrewd decision making has been impressive once again this season and many in the cricketing circles have called for the wicket-keeper/batter’s appointment as the Pakistan captain.

“Before every match he tells us to go inside the ground with a champion’s mindset,” revealed Usman. “And the way bucks all of us up even if we make mistakes is something that keeps our morale high.”

Rizwan’s support has helped Usman plunder 373 runs at a stunning average of more than 124 in only six outing this season with the support of two centuries. He is placed third in the league’s batting charts only under Rizwan who is second with 373 runs to his name.

Rizwan’s counterpart Shadab is not far behind in terms of runs and is well among the wickets as well. He has smashed 301 runs with a strike-rate of nearly 147, mostly playing at number four for United. With his leg-spin Shadab has hunted down 11 victims.

His average, however, is on a slightly higher side making him less lethal of a spin option than Sultans’ Usama Mir, who is the highest wicket-taker this season with 23 scalps and his average, 15, is half as much as Shadab’s.

But the all-rounder is blessed with the experience and utility of Imad Wasim, who has emerged as United’s trump card in the latter stages of the tournament. He won the match with the bat in the recent wins against Sultans and Zalmi, while also demonstrating expertise with his left-arm spin.

“He is one of the best all-rounders in the world right now,” Shadab said after the match against Zalmi. “You can’t doubt his ability after how he has won the last three knockout matches of us.

“We are lucky to have him in our team.”

Imad put up a match-winning partnership of 98 runs with Pakistan discard Haider Ali to snatch the second Eliminator from Zalmi’s jaws after the Babar Azam-led side had taken five United wickets in the space of 11 overs.

Haider, who has been dubbed as a wasted talent after emerging as an explosive batter in his early days, hit three towering sixes to wrap up the game for United, and Shadab believed such players were worth investing in.

“Some players need more love and respect than others and Haider is one of them,” he said. “You can’t write them off on the basis of a few bad performances.”

United’s depth and Sultans’ consistency will be tested in the final on a playing surface, which is likely to be on the slower side but is also expected to provide value for good batting.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2024