This from Multan Sultans wasn’t so much a victory as it was a declaration of purpose after two victories against struggling opponents.
They demolished the two-time champions and comprehensively beat them out for 138 inside of 18 overs thanks to an outstanding bowling effort against a formidable Islamabad United team.
They never actually allowed United to match the asking rate, and every time it seemed like the pursuit of 191 may start, it was put an end to.
Several stages of the defense featured outstanding performances from Mohammad Ilyas, Usama Mir, Ihsanullah, and Abbas Afridi.
Ilyas was effective and destructive in the top order, controlling the top order with precise lines and speed changes while dismissing both openers, Paul Stirling and Hassan Nawaz.
As a third-wicket stand between the dangerous pair of Rassie van der Dussen and Colin Munro—each of whom had contributed to Islamabad’s victory against Karachi Kings earlier this week—threatened to put United back on track, it was Mir’s turn to shine.
Before Shadab Khan went into the deep in the same game-turning exchange, an almost illegible googly kissed Munro’s outside edge through to the keeper.
It was followed by an exciting match between Azam Khan and Ihsanullah in which the bowler played a trick on the batter by varying his lengths. The yorker or the short ball were difficult for Azam to escape.
After the run rate surpassed 11 in the 12th and 14th overs, United’s top middle order power batter managed just one run over the course of eight deliveries against the PSL’s top wicket-taker.
Afridi delivered the powerful blow by taking three wickets in the 17th over. When still on 49, Van van Dussen’s top edge was drawn by a change in speed before Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Wasim were dismissed off successive deliveries.
Ihsanullah came back to deliver the game-winning blow, dismissing Tom Curran and Abrar Ahmed off consecutive deliveries to end the match and collect the prize his performance throughout the spell deserved.
After losing Shan Masoon early, Sultans had earlier started out slowly with the bat, helped by Mohammad Rizwan’s fifty and Rilee Rossouw’s 30-ball 36.
Throughout the early stages of this PSL, the two have managed to balance one another effectively, especially as Masood is now having trouble finding his rhythm.
However, Rizwan adopted a more proactive stance and found timing to be simpler to come by than Rossouw. Until Shadab caught him in front, he reached his fifty in 37 balls.
That got David Miller and Kieron Pollard together, and it may have been this turn of events that cost United the game. The two scored 78 runs off 40 balls, with Miller outrunning his way to a 25-ball 52.
Shadab and Wasim would receive special treatment, with Miller robbing the Islamabad captain for 24 runs in one over. Wasim was dismissed for 28 in his final two overs, and Pollard finished the innings by hitting three straight fours.
Multan scored 190 runs, which was more than enough for a scorching bowling lineup, according to Pollard, who would later claim that they were shooting for 200.