Imad Wasim was Islamabad United’s hero, having turned back the years to deliver a sensational all-round performance, taking five wickets before ensuring he was out in the middle to watch Hunain Shah angle the final delivery behind point to seal United’s third title. Imad Wasim literally dragged Islamabad United to the Pakistan Super League final in 2024.
Imad Wasim put his hand up once again and delivered on the big night to give his side a thrilling title win to condemn Multan Sultans to their third straight loss in the PSL final in three years. The last-ball thriller saw Islamabad triumph with just two wickets in hand in the run chase of 160, which looked extremely steep at one point in the 18th over.
Pitch and Toss
73 meters to square leg, 80 meters down the ground, and 63 meters towards point. Waqar Younis, in the pitch report, says it’s been rolled quite nicely and looks compact and hard. Urooj Mumtaz adds that there is sheen on the surface so it’s going to come onto the bat nicely. Waqar feels Usama Mir could be a handful and adds that hitting the seam right will assist the pacers on this wicket.
Multan Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan won the toss and elected to bat . No changes were made in his playing 11.
Islamabad United skipper Shadab Khan having to bowl first made two changes replacing unfit Obed Mccoy with Tymal Mills and fit again Colin Munro taking place of Alex Hales at the top of the order.
Multan Sultans top order falters to spin duo of Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan as Usman Khan with a valiant 57 kept Multan Sultans alive
Multan Sultans won the toss and elected to bat first. The first over, bowled by Naseem Shah, saw the drama unfold as Salman Ali Agha caught Mohammad Rizwan on the fourth ball, only for the umpire to signal a no-ball as Naseem overstepped.
Imad Wasim struck on the third ball of the next over to remove Yasir Khan, who was caught by Tymal Mills. David Willey, batting at three, hit Imad for a six on the fifth delivery. On the very next ball, Willey’s stumps were shattered as the second wicket fell for Multan. The fifth over, bowled by Hunain Shah, was capitalized by Rizwan and Usman Khan as both hit two boundaries each to snatch 17 from the over. At the end of the powerplay, Multan stood at 48-2.
The 53-run third-wicket stand between Rizwan and Usman was broken in the 10th over as Shadab Khan removed his counterpart for run-a-ball 26.In the next over, Usman smashed a four and a six to keep the score flowing. Imad, returning to the attack, got his third wicket when Johnson Charles (4, 6b) was caught by Naseem at short fine.
In the 15th over, Usman brought up his second HBL PSL 9 half-century. In the same over, Usman and Khushdil Shah hit a boundary each as Multan got to 114-4 with five overs left.
Iftikhar Ahmed’s quickfire 32 propels Multan Sultan to 159 for 9 after Imad Wasim’s 5-fer and Shadab Khan wrecks havoc
Multan dragged themselves to 114/4 with five overs remaining in the innings and were banking on the half-centurion Usman for the final flourish. However, Shadab squashed those plans by getting rid of Usman.
Shadab removed Usman (57, 40b, 7x4s, 1×6) on the first ball of the next over. Usama Mir, the next batter in, smashed a maximum on his first ball. The Islamabad skipper avenged himself on the subsequent delivery, as Hunain pouched an important catch to dismiss Usama (6, 2b, 1×6).
The 17th over, bowled by Imad Wasim, saw three wickets at the expense of just three runs, paralyzing Multan’s innings. Khushdil (11, 13b, 1×4) and Chris Jordan (0, 1b) were removed on consecutive deliveries as Imad completed a five-wicket haul, becoming the first bowler to do so across nine HBL PSL finals.
Abbas Afridi was run out on the final ball of the same over, as Multan were reduced to 127-9 after losing five wickets for just 13 runs over the course of two overs.
With only two overs remaining, Iftikhar stepped on the gas pedal. He smashed two sixes against Mills in the penultimate over. Then, facing Naseem in the final over, he produced two boundaries and one six to help Multan finish at a competitive total of 159-9. Imad Wasim was the pick of the bowlers, getting a five-fer. Shadab bagged three wickets.
Khushdil Shah restricts Islamabad chase in the powerplay with surprise wickets.
In pursuit of 160-run target, Islamabad United started on a 26-run opening partnership between Colin Munro and Martin Guptill, until Khushdil removed the former for 17 on 13, with four boundaries, in the fourth over. In the final over of the powerplay, Khushdil completed a successful return catch to send Salman (10, 11b, 2x4s) back to the pavilion as Islamabad finished six overs at 46-2.
Shortly after, Shadab (4, 8b) failed to execute a sweep shot as Iftikhar disturbed the stumps to bring Islamabad three down, with 58 on the board, after nine overs. Usama, brought to the attack to bowl the 11th over, was on the receiving end of Guptill’s onslaught as he conceded 18 on the back of two sixes and a four. The next over saw 15 runs scored on the back of three boundaries, with Azam Khan hitting two of them.
The stabilizing 47-run fourth-wicket stand between Guptill and Azam was unceremoniously ended when the former was run out in the 13th over. Guptill walked back after contributing 50 from 32, showcasing four boundaries and three maximums.
But there’s only one way United know how to get out of trouble, and Azam and Guptill began to free their arms once more. Guptill scythed down Usama Mir, the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, with two sixes and a four, before Azam plundered 15 off a wayward Chris Jordan over, and the pendulum swung again.
But it was never going to be straightforward, and a mix-up between the pair saw Guptill depart after a swashbuckling half-century. David Willey, perhaps this year’s stand-out fast bowler, struck to put down Haider Ali, whose power-hitting in the eliminator got United to this stage. Iftikhar, whose contribution so often this evening looked as if it would be decisive, prized out Faheem Ashraf, the man who, six years ago, had struck the six that sealed United’s last title, and suddenly, all that was left was Imad and the tail.
Imad Wasim the all rounder keeps his cool and guides Islamabad United to their 3rd PSL Title amidst a thrilling last over finish
Imad Wasim joined Azam on the crease, with 58 needed off 43 deliveries. The two could only add 19 runs collectively before Azam (30, 22b, 4x4s, 1×6) edged one to the keeper to award Usama a wicket. Haider Ali (5, 3b, 1×4) and Faheem Ashraf (1, 4b) were removed cheaply as trouble deepened for the chasing side, who required 31 off 17 to get over the line.
The 18th and 19th overs yielded 12 and 11 runs respectively, to bring the equation to eight needed from the final over with Naseem (17, 9b, 2x4s, 1×6) and Imad Wasim (19 not out, 17b, 2x4s) on the crease. Naseem hit a four on the second ball but was dismissed on the penultimate ball of the game, with the scores leveled.
Late on in the first innings, Imad Wasim had sneaked into the dressing-room to have a quick smoke, but there was no getting away from the stress he was under now. A decisive battle between Iftikhar and Naseem Shah, and then Jordan and Imad Wasim , in the 18th and 19th overs finally looked to have tipped the game off the tightrope it had been walking until then, with 23 off those two overs bringing the equation down to eight off six. A clip through mid-on brought the game down to below a run-a-ball, and a pair of singles levelled the scores.
But the drama just wouldn’t end. Naseem miscued a pull shot with the ball kissing the edge, and as one Shah walked off, his younger brother Hunain was tasked with finishing the job off. Hunain, needing one off the final delivery, hit the winning runs as Islamabad secured the title for the first time since 2018. And while he looked like the calmest man as he poked it through the infield to seal the win, the sobs he broke into afterwards belied the steely front the 20-year old had put on.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Mohammad Rizwan the loosing skipper said :
“When a match goes to last ball, you can’t see your weakness. The way Faisal Akram bowled (in earlier games), he can go a long way. When you have the momentum, you want to keep playing matches. I myself use things like strategic timeout to break the momentum. Could’ve batted better myself. Congrats to Islamabad United,”
Shadab Khan the winning skipper said :
“Felt that the more time I had, could utilize it better with bat. At number 6-7, I don’t have the power game. Have tried to fix my technical issues as a bowler. That’s a long process, and the improvements will come. Watching the match is tough for me. In the middle I don’t feel pressure, but watching it from outside is tough,”
“I make life difficult for people next to me as well, so I don’t sit with batters who are supposed to walk in next. Special mention to the owners who have backed me. I was captain for five years and we didn’t reach final, but they backed me. Lot of things I feel that make this trophy very important for us,”
Shadab Khan gets the Player of the tournament award for a brilliant all-round show. He picked up 14 wickets, and scored 305 runs. Usama Mir finishes as the leading wicket-taker of the season, and Babar Azam leading run-scorer of the season. Usman Khan is named Batter of the tournament, Usama Mir is Bowler of the tournament, Saim Ayub – allrounder of the tournament, and Azam Khan is keeper of the tournament.
Imad Wasim gets Player of the Match Award said :
“Didn’t know that it would go on to be the best ever tournament. Just wanted to have an impact in the team’s win. It was a new experience – taking five wickets in the final. Took lesson that we should’ve finished it one over earlier. I’m happy playing cricket. Trying my utmost to contribute for the team. 4-5 years of cricket left in me,”
Islamabad players run out of patience and call Shadab to lift the trophy in the middle of his interview. They’ve waited six years, but not anymore. Shadab lifts the trophy and the fireworks go off again. Now the players are taking turns with the trophy lifting. These celebrations will go long into the night after what has been a well earned win.
Islamabad had left it right until the final ball of their final league match against Multan Sultans to seal their entry into the playoffs. Imad Wasim was the man for them on that occasion. Today again they left it till the last ball against the same opponents with Imad playing a crucial role to get them over the line.
How good has he been with both bat and ball in these crunch games. This is Islamabad’s third title win, while it’s a third consecutive loss in a PSL final for Multan leaving Multan Sultans wonder they might possess the formula for getting to PSL finals, but it’s Islamabad United who know how to win them. Déjà vu struck for the Sultans, who saw yet another PSL final snatched away from them off the final delivery in a low-scoring thriller of a final.