Islamabad United, Multan Sultans set to battle for PSL title
Karachi: Karachi’s National Bank Stadium is set to host the HBL PSL 9 final on 18 March 2024, wherein table-toppers Multan Sultans will meet Islamabad United to battle it out for the grand Orion Trophy. The first ball is expected to be bowled at 9pm, while the toss will take place at 8:30pm.
Sultans, who qualified for the final after beating Peshawar Zalmi in the Qualifier, will be playing their fourth consecutive final. They 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.
After finishing third on the table, United beat Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi in the two eliminators to earn the coveted berth in the final. This will be two-time champions United’s first final since 2018 – when they last won the HBL PSL title.
In the lead-up to the playoffs, Multan Sultans secured 14 points after winning seven out of their ten games. 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.
Multan’s Mohammad Rizwan and Usman Khan are the second and third highest run-getters of the tournament thus far, only behind Peshawar Zalmi’s Babar Azam who ended HBL PSL 9 with 569 runs in 11 innings, including five half-centuries and one century.
Rizwan has accumulated 382 runs in as many innings, 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.
