1. With the top 2 spot guaranteed, Islamabad United made 5 changes to their side which played their previous game. In came Shadab Khan, Umer Amin, Mohammad Wasim, Ali Khan & Faheem Ashraf.
Changes such as these are required, IU played 6 games in 10 days and any rest for the main players benefits the side, as it gives them more recovery time ahead of the playoffs. Let’s not forget that the players are playing in the peak summer months of UAE.
2. Multan Sultans are the Anti-IU when it comes to batting, while Islamabad United believe in batting depth as something which will win them games or bail them out when their side is in trouble, Multan Sultans have no batting depth — They have had Imran Tahir or Sohail Khan bat at 7 for them — but instead believe in going all out with the bowling.
This approach has worked well for them, Multan do not have the necessary players to follow the “bat-deep” approach but they do have a strong bowling line-up which can help defend totals.
Their approach with the bat can be seen with their scoring rate in the Abu Dhabi leg this season, they have been better than the Abu Dhabi average in the first 10 overs of the innings, but their lack of batting depth is evident given their scoring rate in the back end of the innings.
Multan’s approach in the first half is to be aggressive cause they know that for their batsmen this is the best time to score runs, which is why they target the powerplay with the field restrictions in place and the 4 over period post it where usually there is a lull in scoring rate.
So when Multan Sultans scored 97 in their first 10 against IU. Shadab and co. knew that they needed a couple of wickets here to get back in the game and that’s what happened. As two quick wickets in the 11th over of the innings saw Multan Sultans collapse from 107/1 to 149 all out.
3. The two legs have been different for obvious reasons, the pitch, the conditions, the players involved. A lot has changed in a side from the Karachi leg of the PSL and the Abu Dhabi leg of the PSL.
Islamabad United also had to make changes to their game plan in between the two legs. While in Karachi, it was their bowling which won them games — IU had the best economy rate — in Abu Dhabi it is the complete opposite with their batting being the one winning them games — they have the second best scoring rate in Abu Dhabi — but it’s not like IU’s bowling has fallen away from the Karachi leg, the side has the 3rd best economy rate in the PSL, conceding 8.21 runs per over when the league average in Abu Dhabi has been 8.41 runs per over. Combine the fact that IU’s batting has been destructive and their bowling has been good, they have the second best differential between runs scored and conceded per over, behind only Multan Sultans.
4. The PSL has been very competitive for a while now, as the league grows older, teams become better. They improve in the draft, the strategies in the league and how each venue plays. Over time the quality of the league improves and this improvement is seen among all 6 teams within the league.
Which is why the league stages are becoming more competitive, this season we have had 4 teams finish on the same number of points, but one of them isn’t going to feature in the playoffs.
This is where there is a difference between Islamabad United and the remainder of the league, Islamabad has won 8 of their 10 games this season, 3 more wins than the next best side. Their win% of 80 in the league stage is the best for any side in the PSL. Only 7 of the 34 have had a win% of over 70% in the league stage, of those 3 sides have caveats attached — Multan Sultans had 2 of their 10 games washed out, Zalmi & Gladiators in 2016 played only 8 games — so for Islamabad United to finish with a 80% win record in the league stage is mighty impressive, more so when you factor in that the side has not played their best 11 for their final 2 games this season and one of their losses came on the final ball of the match.
5. While the league stage was smooth sailing for Islamabad United, the playoffs will pose a different challenge for the side as they have to be on their A-game if they want to win the league. IU have been rewarded for being good in the league stage with 2 shots at the final, but they would want to get to the final in their first attempt which gives them ample time to rest and be at their absolute best for the final.