The rain was on the cards, it was always on the cards. There was a good chance that this game like the previous meeting between these two sides would have also been a washout. But we did have a game and Zalmi ended up winning the game by 7 runs on D/L method.
Islamabad’s post powerplay attack
The 4 overs after the powerplay usually brings a lull in scoring for the batting side, with he fields spread out the batting side has fewer scoring opportunities, the gaps are harder to find, the spinners come on which sees big-hitting become a touch more harder.
So if the batting side has an explosive powerplay, it wouldn’t be surprising if the scoring rate in the 4 overs after the powerplay takes a dip from the scoring rate in the powerplay.
Islamabad United does things differently though, with the focus on uber attacking batting. United doesn’t want to slow down even in the 4 overs after the powerplay.
Prior to the game today, Islamabad United scored 215 runs in 24 overs in those 4 overs after the powerplay, that’s 8.96 runs per over.
United went one step ahead today and truly attacked the 4 overs after the powerplay. Scoring 46 runs in those overs. That along with 59 runs in the powerplay saw United score 105 runs in the first 10 overs.
Dropped catches
There were 4 dropped catches in the United innings and 1 dropped catch in the Zalmi innings. It looked like the cold weather had something to do with it.
Some of the dropped catches were of sitters, while some were legitimate tough chances. The dropped chances did have an impact on the game, how much is debatable though.
The side which dropped more catches eventually won the game. So, in the end, those drops didn’t hurt Zalmi’s chances.
Shadab Khan’s impact
I think a lot has been spoken about Shadab’s impact as a batsman. But every time he walks out to bat, he somehow manages to pull off a better performance than he did the previous time.
Walking in today at 41/2 with just 25 balls into the innings. Shadab was eventually dismissed after 89 balls. During his stay at the crease, Islamabad United scored 148 runs in 89 balls. Shadab’s contribution was 77 runs in 42 balls which is him scoring at 11 runs an over. His batting partners scored 71 runs in 47 balls at 9.06 runs per over.
Shadab’s impact with the bat has also seen him score at a quicker rate than his partners this season, in the game today he was the batsman who looked to make the key momentum shifts in the innings.
With his innings today, Shadab was the top scorer of the league for a short time, the fact that he was there even if it was a brief period of time shows how much he has worked on improving his batting and how he has become an asset for this Islamabad United side with a discipline other than his bowling.
Rain Rain Go away.
To be honest, the forecast for this game suggested that there would be no game played. But the rain gods took a break and we had a match. But there was rain forecast for later in the day and when the result was decided on the basis of D/L method we can always debate on how things could have been different.
Could Shadab have treated the 2nd innings like a shortened innings from the start and given himself more overs, should he have given Faheem Ashraf bowling instead of Akif Javed?
There will be questions, but teams don’t really plan with rain in mind. For Islamabad’s final game at home, there is rain scheduled yet again, but the chances are very minimal, hopefully, this time rain doesn’t play spoilsport.
Where does Islamabad United stand?
Islamabad United are 3rd on the table with 7 points in 8 games, they have two more games left with the next one being their final home game of the season against Multan Sultans and then the side heads to Karachi to play Karachi Kings.