1. The one team which has stood out in the Abu Dhabi leg of the PSL is Multan Sultans. They have been brilliant with both ball and bat. Their brilliance with the bat is down to how they start their innings, they know the limitation their side has with the lack of batting depth, so they need to capitalise on the first six overs they face and they have been the best at that in Abu Dhabi. Multan has scored at 9.33 runs per over in the first 6, losing a wicket every 6 overs, so their average score in the first six overs is 56/1.
Islamabad United knows that and the one thing they can do to help their cause against Multan is trying to cap their scoring rate in the powerplay and while at it, get the wicket of Rizwan who prior to this game was dismissed only once in the powerplay overs in the Abu Dhabi leg. Islamabad managed to do that, conceding just 44 runs and picking the key wicket of Mohd Rizwan.
A side needs to do everything to make life a bit tougher for their opposition and with the way the powerplay went for Multan, it was a powerplay win for Islamabad United.
2. Sohaib Maqsood during his innings became the 3rd highest run-getter in the PSL, his 363 runs have come at 9.12 runs per over, among the top 10 run-getters this season, his scoring rate is only behind Colin Munro.
Maqsood’s job with the side is to score runs at a quick pace and unsettle the opposition bowlers, something which he has been doing well more so in Abu Dhabi. The average scoring rate in Abu Dhabi has been 8.41 runs per over, Sohaib Maqsood has been scoring at 9.71 runs per over which is 1.3 runs more than the going rate.
Maqsood started off better than usual against Islamabad, scoring 43 runs in 23 balls at 11.22 runs per over, but his next 18 balls saw him only score 16 runs at 5.34 runs per over. He eventually got out after facing 41 balls scoring 59 runs, with his overall scoring rate being 8.64 runs per over. Getting Maqsood to slow down to just above the average scoring rate over his 41 ball stay, more so given the start he had was a commendable effort from the lads.
3. At the end of the 13th over Multan were 116/3, their run rate was 8.92 runs per over. Islamabad needed to plug the scoring rate and they needed to do it quickly or there was a genuine case for Multan to take this game away from Islamabad. The next 5 overs saw Islamabad conceded only 29 runs at 5.8 runs per over.
Islamabad had done well, but a Khusdil Shah assault in the penultimate over changed the innings, it genuinely looked like Islamabad United were probably going to be chasing something in the region of 160-165, but that penultimate over which went for 29 runs — the same number of runs as the previous 5 overs went for — changes the complexion of the Multan innings and gave Multan’s bowlers more breathing space.
4. When chasing a total in the region of 180, you need a good start and you need to have some wickets in hand. Islamabad at the end of the first 6 over didn’t have either as they had a below-par powerplay where they lost 3 wickets and managed to score only 38 runs.
This poor start got worse at the end of the 10th over, when the side a further 2 wickets with the scoreboard reading 61 runs. 120 runs in 10 overs is a steep chase, which is made steeper with the fact that your side is 5 wickets down.
5. Usman Khawaja followed up his century with a fighting 70 in 40 balls, he kept Islamabad United in the game even when it looked bleak, there was a point in the chase when Islamabad scored 36 runs in 2 overs, another 2 overs like these and Islamabad would have been back in the hunt. 28 of those 36 runs came from Uzzie’s bat as he was the man who was in long enough to play shots on this pitch.
In the end, though he was dismissed going for another shot which could have further helped Islamabad, a good catch in the deep ended those hopes.
6. The good thing about finishing top of the table is that you have 2 shots at the final, yes Islamabad United did have a bad day, their worst in the season. But that by no means they are out of the tournament as they will gear up again tomorrow to face the winner of the eliminator.