110/8

After 16 overs, that was what the scoreboard read for Islamabad United. Not an ideal score, made even worse with the fact this is a knockout match, lose and you are out of the tournament. Your top spot finish stands for nothing if you don’t win this. 

Islamabad’s journey to this score was a rocky one, the powerplay was going Zalmi’s way for the first 5 overs then the 6th and final over of the powerplay saw Munro go after Umaid Asif and Islamabad United came away with 19 runs, ending the powerplay with 57 runs and 3 wickets down. 

The next 10 overs had nothing much to discuss if you are an Islamabad United supporter — in fact, you want to erase these 10 overs from your memory of PSL6 — as Islamabad managed to add only 53 runs and lose 5 more wickets. 

With 4 overs to go, most sides will aim to bat the whole 20 overs and in the process get as many runs as they can. But on the crease were Hasan Ali and Mohd Wasim, they both are Islamabad United’s main bowlers of course. But they both have shown their talent with the bat. 

Hasan Ali since his comeback at the start of the 2020/2021 Domestic season has been in great form with the bat, scoring a fifty, a maiden first-class century, plus some handy knocks for men in green. So we do know he can bat. 

Mohd Wasim who has made his debut in Pakistan cricket this season already has a half-century in List A cricket with a scoring rate of 6.66 runs per over and has been a quick scorer whenever he has come out to bat for Islamabad. 

So with 4 overs to go in the innings and Islamabad United 110/8, there were two “bowlers” at the crease but they were bowlers who could bat and this is where Islamabad United’s strategy of always looking to bat deep paid off. 

While other teams usually look to play out the final 4 overs, Islamabad thanks to Hasan Ali & Mohd Wasim added 64 runs. Hasan Ali is the destroyer in chief scoring in these overs as he scores 45 runs in 16 balls at an eye-watering 17 runs per over. While Wasim on the other end added 17 crucial runs in 11 balls. 

Islamabad ended with 174/9  at the end of the innings, a score not expected when your side is 110/8 with 24 balls left in the innings, thanks to the batting depth the side has made sure to have.

77/1

Zalmi’s score with 10 overs of the chase done, 98 runs more needed to chase this down and go through to the final. The required rate was 8.75 runs per over,  with Zalmi going at 7.7 runs per over, as a bowling side Islamabad United were happy, they were making the task for Zalmi that extra bit harder with every ball and with their bowling chasing at close to 10 runs an over is not going to be easy. 

Islamabad conceded 67 runs from overs 11-15, there was nothing much Islamabad could do at this point, for the side did manage to get the required rate close to 10 runs per over, Zalmi still had 9 wickets in hand and all they needed was 2 overs of quick scoring to take the game away from Islamabad. 

The 11th & 12th overs bowled by Mohd Wasim & Shadab Khan were those overs for Peshawar Zalmi as they plundered 35 runs to break the equation from 98 runs in 60 balls to 63 runs in 48 balls. 

From that point, the chase by conventional T20 standards was a walk in the park. Islamabad did give it its best, but today was not their day and at times like this all you can do is give credit to the opposition for staying out there and putting a fight even when things got tough. Zazai and Wells were 26(27) & 22(23) at the end of the 9th over, Zazai eventually ended with 66 runs in 44 balls while Wells ended with 55 runs in 43 balls. Both took their time in the middle when the bowling was tough, but they made good on their time spent out there. 

8 wins 4 losses

Whoever wins the PSL on Thursday, will have either won one game less than Islamabad United or as many games as Islamabad United. In fact, Islamabad United’s 66.67% will be better than the eventual winner. 

But that’s not how playoff cricket works. Islamabad United was the best side in the league stage, their number 1 ranking, their 8 wins in 10 games and their 16 points which was 6 more than the 2nd placed side was proof of that. The number 1 ranking ensures that you have two shots to get into the final, once the playoffs start those 8 wins don’t count for anything and the 6 point gap between you and the next best side is absent. The league rankings show that the process was in place and the results did follow, but all it takes is things going slightly wary for 1-2 days and that’s all it takes for the season to end.

Playoff cricket is cruel, but that’s one of the beautiful things about it. 

Islamabad United’s season is over, but this is a season that will be remembered for a while. Thanks for the support and ISLU loves you all for the support.