PSL 2021 qualifier: Table toppers Islamabad United take on Multan Sultans today
June 21, 2021
- Islamabad United ended the league stage on top.
- Whoever wins the match will qualify for the final, while the loser will play the winner of eliminator 1.
- Islamabad United have won five times, while Multan Sultans emerged winners thrice.
ABU DHABI: The Islamabad United will take on the Multan Sultans today in the Pakistan Super League’s qualifier at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium.
The match starts at 6pm.
The winners of this game will make it to the June 24 final.
The losers will meet the winners of the eliminator 1, which is scheduled to be held between Karachi Kings and former winners Peshawar Zalmi at 11 pm PST today.
Table toppers United have been in a red-hot form since losing their first Abu Dhabi-leg match to the Qalandars in a last-over thriller on 9 June.
The Shadab Khan-led side has since won five matches on the trot to finish with a staggering eight wins in 10 league-stage matches. They had won three out of their first four matches of the Karachi leg.
The foreign opening duo of Usman Khawaja and Colin Munro has dazzled for them in the Abu Dhabi leg.
Usman, the Australian international batsman, posted the only century of the Abu Dhabi leg, leading his side to victory in a record-breaking, high-scoring thriller against Peshawar Zalmi last week.
In five games, the left-hander has tallied 175 runs at 58.33 and a strike rate of 147.05 with the help of one century.
Munro has amassed 241 runs in five games at 80.33, with an astonishing strike rate of 174.63. His tally of runs includes two half-centuries.
Asif Ali and Iftikhar Ahmed have provided valuable support in the middle-order with match-winning contributions.
Amongst the bowlers, Hasan Ali leads the pack for United with 12 wickets in eight games at 16.75. Emerging category pacer Mohammad Wasim Jr. has been most impressive in his debut PSL season, collecting 11 wickets in nine matches.
The Mohammad Rizwan-led Sultans have emerged from the disappointments of the fifth position in Karachi to the highs of a second-place finish in Abu Dhabi.
Rizwan has led the side from the front with a tally of 470 runs at 52.22 with the help of four half-centuries. Sohaib Maqsood has scored 304 runs in 10 games at 38 with a strike rate of 154.31.
Sultans’ emerging category fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani has been most impressive with his 20 wickets in nine matches, taking him to the top of the wicket-takers list. His wickets have come at an incredible 13.65 average and he has picked up two player-of-the-match awards.
The Islamabad United have won five times, while the Multan Sultans emerged winners thrice.
