HBL PSL 6 reaches business end

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The HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) has reached the business end of the tournament, with the qualifier and eliminator one set to be played on Monday in Abu Dhabi.

Table-toppers Islamabad United, who had a superb run in the event after winning eight out of their 10 games, will face the resurgent Multan Sultans’ side, who made a stellar comeback in the event by winning four out of their last five matches, in the qualifier.

The winner of this match will qualify for the final, while the loser will get another opportunity in the shape of facing the winner of eliminator one — which will be played between Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings.

In the round-robin stage, Islamabad won both their matches against Multan by three and four wickets, respectively.

Multan’s young fast-bowler Shahnawaz Dahani, who is the leading wicket-taker in the event with 20 scalps, and skipper Mohammad Rizwan, second highest run-getter with 470 runs, will be crucial to their side’s chances of progressing in the event.

Meanwhile, Islamabad will rely on their in-form opening pair of Colin Munro and Usman Khawaja, who scored a century as well in HBL PSL 6, along with all-rounder Iftikhar Ahmed and hard-hitting batsman Asif Ali.

Their bowling department will be led by the experienced pacer Hasan Ali, along with the impressive young pacer Mohammad Wasim jnr.

In the second match of the day, Karachi will face Peshawar in the eliminator with the loser set to exit the tournament.

Karachi found themselves in a spot of bother, towards the end of the round-robin stage, after losing three matches in a row after the tournament’s restart. However, they bounced back to win the last two games and seal their spot in the final four.

On the other hand, Peshawar had a topsy-turvy campaign but managed to finish in third place with five wins out of 10 games.

In the round-robin stage, the two sides shared spoils by winning one match ­— both by a margin of six wickets.

Karachi will rely on their prolific batsman Babar Azam, who is the top run-getter in the event with 501 runs, along with fellow opener Sharjeel Khan to do the bulk of the scoring. Middle-order batsman Danish Aziz’s 13-ball 45 in the last match, against Quetta Gladiators, was also a breath of fresh air for the side.

In the bowling department, pacer Mohammad Amir will spearhead the attack despite being off colour in the last few games. The talented Afghan spinner Noor Ahmad has also been very effective in the middle-overs, with his frugal bowling.

Meanwhile, Peshawar will look towards their captain, Wahab Riaz, to lead the attack with the ball, who is the third highest wicket-taker in the event with 14 wickets, along with the spin and guile of Abrar Ahmed.

The experienced campaigners, in the shape of opener Kamran Akmal and all-rounder Shoaib Malik, will be the ones to watch out for in the batting department along with the clean hitting of Sherfane Rutherford towards the end of the innings.

The second eliminator will be played on Tuesday, June 22, while the final is slated for Thursday, June 24.