Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United PSL 9 final locked for March 18

Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United PSL 9 final has been locked for March 18, to be played at the National Bank Stadium Karachi for the grand Orion trophy.

The first ball is expected to be bowled at 9 pm, while the toss will take place at 8:30 pm.

Both teams secured magnificent victories in the eliminator round to book their spots in this season’s final.

Islamabad United qualified for the final after beating Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets on Saturday at National Bank Stadium, Karachi in Eliminator Two.

While Multan Sultans beat Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets in the Eliminator 1 on March 14.

Who is going to be the favourite for the PSL 9 final?

Multan Sultans:

Multan Sultans were crowned champions in the 2021 edition and finished as runners-up in the subsequent two editions wherein Lahore Qalandars clinched two back-to-back titles.

Multan Sultans had secured 14 points after winning seven out of their ten games in the playoffs.

Usama Mir is the current leading wicket-taker of the tournament.

Rright-arm pacer Mohammad Ali, who is playing his maiden HBL PSL tournament, has taken 18 wickets in 11 games, the most by any pacer in the tournament thus far.

MS skipper Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Khan are the second and third-highest run-scorers of the tournament thus far, only behind Peshawar Zalmi’s Babar Azam who ended HBL PSL 9 with 569 runs in 11 innings.

Rizwan has scored 382 runs, with four half-centuries. Usman, having appeared in only six games, has made 373 runs on the back of two centuries and a half-century.

Ahead of the final, skipper Mohammad Rizwan said: “I am very proud of the way my team has played in this tournament. Our boys have displayed the true warrior spirit throughout the tournament. Whenever we found ourselves behind the opposition, our players stepped up through their bold and fearless approach.

“We have a solid team that has all the bases covered. Our locals, foreigners and emerging players have shone and produced some extraordinary performances. What further helps us is the fact that our team has gelled really well in the last four weeks.

“For tomorrow, we need to stick to our process. I am sure if our execution is perfect, the people of Multan and south Punjab will get a favourable result. InshaAllah!”

Islamabad United:

On the other hand, this is going to be two-time champions Islamabad United’s first final since 2018 – when they last won the HBL PSL title.

United finished with five wins, whereas their home game against Lahore Qalandars was washed out. As a result, United had 11 points, equaling with the fourth-placed Quetta Gladiators.

Naseem Shah, who made his move to Islamabad United ahead of HBL PSL 9, has the most wickets for his team so far. Naseem the right-arm seamer has grabbed 15 wickets in 10 games.

Colin Munro, with 309 runs from nine games with three fifties, is the highest run-getter for Islamabad United.

Meanwhile, IU’s skipper all-rounder Shadab Khan has also starred with the bat and ball alike this season, Sadab in 11 games, has scored 301 runs, including three half-centuries, and also taken 11 wickets.

Ahead of the final, Shadab Khan said: “I’m proud of my team for standing tall in crucial situations and getting through to the final of HBL PSL after a long hiatus of five years. This is what we intended while assembling the squad and all the players have responded very well throughout the group stage as well as the playoffs. Islamabad winning the trophy for the third time will be a great achievement and I’m looking forward to whatever challenge Multan Sultans will pose in the final. Hopefully, our batters and bowlers will step up in a spirited manner as they have done throughout the season and will make us champions.”