The season four of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is already three weeks and 22 matches old. If the games in the first leg of Dubai were lacking a certain charm and crowds, Sharjah ensured it injected a new life into the tournament before things moved back to Dubai. The super iconic Sharjah stadium, yet again (in no particular order), produced two last ball sixes to seal the deal for Lahore and Quetta. The fans lived and relived the raw emotions of a joyous and dejected Lahore Qalandars’ owner Fawad Rana, in a span of 24 hours. A forever young Mohammad Sami took a hat-trick, a mad partnership by AB de Villiers and David Wiese, Hasan Ali at his finest, some new and some old faces getting work done for their teams, Colin Ingram going berserk with the bat and the return of Salman Butt are a few stories which became the center of attraction during the Sharjah leg. No, seriously, it isn’t easy getting Mr 360, AB de Villiers’ indescribable shot off Junaid Khan out of one’s system or stop picturing Fawad Rana bowing down after his team chased down a target of 201 on the last ball or a certain Sir Vivian Richards jumping in joy every time his team does good. The insane AB shot It does seem like this season of the PSL has been going on for ages, yet during an off day even the most useful amongst us start feeling useless. Buckle up, there are only 12 more matches to go, and your team needs your support in the stands and outside the stadium. Make sure you cheer them on the internet, defend your team at the workplace, among friends, during a haircut or over a session of chai. If you haven’t been able to follow every game, fear not. Let me quickly recap for you the performances of the six teams so far: According to the points table, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators are tied at 10 points each, with the Darren Sammy side leading the charts on net run-rate. The PSL 2018 runners-up Zalmi started off their campaign this season with a loss against Quetta. Zalmi then went on to win two back-to-back games, mainly due to their in-form pacer Hassan Ali: he’s miles ahead of the pack with 18 wickets, and precision, pace and the fire to achieve new heights. The last minute induction of Imam ul Haq in the batting department raised an eyebrow or two initially but he’s been more than decent, accumulating 181 runs at a strike-rate of 121. Meanwhile, Wahab Riaz along with taking 10 wickets has also entertained the crowds with his new ‘Undertaker’ inspired celebration. Peshawar’s second loss was against Islamabad. They never looked back and went on to win their next two games in Dubai. Liam Dawson’s quick-fire unbeaten 35-ball 52 including a last ball boundary to help win against Islamabad United was the perfect revenge. Wahab Riaz's unique celebration style this PSL As for Quetta, they also have 5 wins out of 7. Before their 5th match, which also happened to be the last of the matches in Sharjah this season, they seemed invincible but were single-handedly thrashed by a man on a mission, Colin Ingram. They also lost to Lahore Qalandars in an embarrassing fashion as they were bundled out for a meagre 106 in Dubai. But Quetta finished off on a high by beating Multan Sultans in the final match in Dubai this season. Some of the the highlights for Gladiators this season have been Umar Akmal’s comeback and teenager Muhammad Hasnain’s consistent pace. Akmal accumulated 200 runs in the first five matches followed by just one run in the next two games. He has made a strong case for himself to return to the national side by stellar performances in the first two legs but he’ll have to replicate those performances in the rest of the tournament to give the selectors a solid headache. Shane Watson has been a pillar for the Gladiators (226 runs), and their chances to progress beyond the play-offs will depend on Watson’s availability for the Pakistan leg. The young left-arm medium pacer Ghulam Mudassar has also looked promising, Fawad Ahmed aka Bachaji has showed why he’s rated high in the T20 circuit along with the evergreen Sohail Tanvir. Tanvir with 12 scalps is the second highest wicket-taker this year and surprised one and all with his improved fielding. Sarfraz Ahmed and Co would be hoping to remain consistent and eventually go on to lift the trophy this time. The defending champions, Islamabad United with 8 points (4 wins in 8 games) are no.3 on the points tables. In Ramiz Raja’s golden words, they didn’t have to toil hard to open their account against Qalandars on the opening night of the season four. Their star performer from the last season, Luke Ronchi, continued from where he had left. He’s been smashing bowlers all over the park, already has 2 fifties to his name (233 runs at a strike-rate of 163) and this run-machine remains United’s key to defend their title. Teenage pacer Mohammad Musa looks another promising prospect. The likes of Fahim Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Samit Patel and Asif Ali have chipped in on and off. Islamabad have a habit of slowly picking up pace in the PSL, they lost two back to back games in Dubai but just like last year, Sharjah proved to be their lucky charm as they trumped Peshawar and Karachi. And their captain Mohammad Sami registered the 4th hat-trick of PSL. In the second Dubai leg, Asif Ali single-handedly led his team to victory against Karachi Kings. But the bowlers failed to defend 177 against a resilient Peshawar Zalmi. With just two more games left for United, they’d want to win both games to give themselves a chance of finishing in the top two. The arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings with three wins and six points each are 4 and 5 on the points table. Nothing new, both teams along with their management and fans haven’t had much to cheer about until AB de Villiers, David Wiese and Colin Ingram single-handedly casted a spell on their oppositions. A spell so powerful not just the PSL fan base but every cricket lover got mesmerised by it. Sandeep Lamichhane has boosted Lahore Qalandars' bowling since joining PSL Colin Ingram closed the Sharjah leg of the Pakistan Super League season 4 with a six. It was his eighth six of the innings, he ended with the highest individual score in PSL and became the first foreign and fourth overall player to score a hundred. A knock of 127 not-out off just 59 balls which helped Karachi Kings register their second victory of the season and how. Lahore would hope against hope that AB de Villiers stays fit. The spin wizard from Nepal, Sandeep Lamichhane (10 wickets), bamboozles more batsmen. While, their speedster, Haris Rauf, keeps on inspiring others with his lethal fast bowling. Shaheen Shah Afridi and Fakhar Zaman need to be at their best as well if Lahore are to qualify for the play-offs. As for the Karachi Kings, their batting just like Lahore’s has been a cause of concern. Before Colin Ingram’s magical hitting, Babar Azam has been the only batsman to have carried the burden of Kings’ batting. There is no rocket science to it, Karachi needs to get their collective act together if they want to qualify for the play-offs. Last but not the least, Multan Sultans are sitting at the bottom of the table: two wins out of eight. A franchise with new owners as well as a few new faces still hasn’t found its mojo. The veteran Shoaib Malik despite being the highest run-getter (240 runs including two fifties) hasn’t been able to inspire his team. Meanwhile, the other experienced T20 campaigner Shahid Afridi is yet to showcase fully what he’s capable of in this format. The management has had issues with finding a winning combination, Sultans are yet to fire as a team.<doc-sep>SHARJAH: Peshawar Zalmi have won the toss and elected to bowl first against Multan Sultans in the 14th match of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) fourth edition at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday. The second phase of the fourth edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) will end today (Sunday) as Multan Sultans face Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings play Quetta Gladiators. In the second match of the day Karachi Kings will face Quetta Gladiators at 09:00pm. Gladiators are the only undefeated team in the tournament so far. Both matches will be played at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The league will then move back to Dubai for its third phase. Playing XI Multan Sultans Shoaib Malik (c), Shahid Afridi, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, James Vince, Johson Charls, Umar Siddiq, Mohammad Illyas, Daniel Christian, Hammad Azam, Chris Green Peshawar Zalmi Darren Sammy (c), Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kieron Pollard, Kamran Akmal, Liam Dawson, Dawid Malan, Umar Amin, Umaid Asif, Sameen Gul<doc-sep>DUBAI: Multan Sultans regained confidence as they defeated Islamabad United by six wickets in 121 run-chase with 11 balls to spare at the Dubai International Stadium. Opener Umar Siddiq, 46 off 45 with five boundaries and a six, powered Multan Sultans to chase an easy target of 121 runs, while James Vince smashed 28 off 17 balls with five boundaries. Shadab Khan, Musa, Samit Patel and Rumman Raees picked one wicket each. The brilliant bowling display of Sultans helped the team secured much awaited victory. DT Christian took three wickets, Shahid Afridi, Nauman Ali and Muhammad Ilyas took two wickets each while Muhammad Irfan picked one. For United opener Luke Ronchi scored 32 off 16 while Asif Ali resisted with his innings of 22 runs off 12 balls. Multan Sultans: 122/4 in 18.1 overs After over 18: Multan Sultans 120/4 Rumman Raees to Christian, 1 run Rumman Raees to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Rumman Raees to Christian, (no ball) 1 run Rumman Raees to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Rumman Raees to Christian, 1 run Rumman Raees to Christian, no run Rumman Raees to Shoaib Malik, 1 run After over 17: Multan Sultans 113/4 Muhammad Musa to Christian, 4 runs Muhammad Musa to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Muhammad Musa to Christian, 1 run Muhammad Musa to Christian, no run Muhammad Musa to Christian, 6 runs Muhammad Musa to Christian, no run Muhammad Musa to Evans, OUT (b Muhammad Musa 1) After over 16: Multan Sultans 101/3 Rumman Raees to Evans, 1 run Rumman Raees to Evans, no run Rumman Raees to Evans, no run Rumman Raees to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Rumman Raees to Umar Siddiq, OUT (c Muhammad Musa b Rumman Raees 46) Rumman Raees to Shoaib Malik, 1 run After over 15: Multan Sultans 98/2 Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, no run Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, no run Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, 2 runs Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, no run Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, no run Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, no run After over 14: Multan Sultans 96/2 Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, no run Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, no run Shadab Khan to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Shadab Khan to Umar Siddiq, 4 runs Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, no run After over 13: Multan Sultans 90/2 Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, no run Faheem Ashraf to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Faheem Ashraf to Shoaib Malik, no run Faheem Ashraf to Shoaib Malik, 4 runs Faheem Ashraf to Shoaib Malik, 2 runs Faheem Ashraf to Shoaib Malik, no run After over 12: Multan Sultans 83/2 Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, 6 runs Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, 4 runs Muhammad Musa to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, no run Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, no run After over 11: Multan Sultans 71/2 Patel to Shoaib Malik, no run Patel to Shoaib Malik, no run Patel to Shoaib Malik, no run Patel to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Patel to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Patel to Shoaib Malik, 4 runs After over 10: Multan Sultans 65/2 Shadab Khan to Umar Siddiq, no run Shadab Khan to Umar Siddiq, no run Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, no run Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, no run Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, no run After over 9: Multan Sultans 64/2 Patel to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Patel to Shoaib Malik, no run Patel to Shoaib Malik, no run Patel to Shoaib Malik, no run Patel to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Patel to Umar Siddiq, no run Patel to Umar Siddiq, 1 wide After over 8: Multan Sultans 61/2 Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, no run Shadab Khan to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, 1 run Shadab Khan to Shoaib Malik, no run Shadab Khan to Charles, OUT (lbw b Shadab Khan 4) Shadab Khan to Umar Siddiq, 1 run After over 7: Multan Sultans 58/1 Patel to Charles, 4 runs Patel to Charles, no run Patel to Vince, OUT (c Parnell b Patel 28) Patel to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Patel to Umar Siddiq, no run Patel to Vince, 1 run After over 6: Multan Sultans 52/0 Shadab Khan to Vince, 1 run Shadab Khan to Vince, no run Shadab Khan to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Shadab Khan to Umar Siddiq, no run Shadab Khan to Umar Siddiq, no run Shadab Khan to Umar Siddiq, 4 runs After over 5: Multan Sultans 46/0 Patel to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Patel to Umar Siddiq, 2 runs Patel to Vince, 1 run Patel to Vince, 4 runs Patel to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Patel to Umar Siddiq, no run After over 4: Multan Sultans 37/0 Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, 4 run Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, 4 runs Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, 1 wide Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, 1 leg bye Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, no run Muhammad Musa to Vince, 1 run Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, 1 run After over 3: Multan Sultans 25/0 Rumman Raees to Vince, no run Rumman Raees to Vince, 4 runs Rumman Raees to Vince, no run Rumman Raees to Vince, no run Rumman Raees to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Rumman Raees to Umar Siddiq, 4 runs After over 2: Multan Sultans 16/0 Muhammad Musa to Vince, 4 runs Muhammad Musa to Vince, 2 runs Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, no run Muhammad Musa to Umar Siddiq, no run Muhammad Musa to Vince, 1 run After over 1: Multan Sultans 8/0 Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, 2 runs Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, 4 runs Faheem Ashraf to Vince, 1 run Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, 1 run Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, no run Faheem Ashraf to Umar Siddiq, no run Islamabad United 121 all out in 17.4 overs After over 17.4: Islamabad United 121/10 Christian to Muhammad Musa, OUT (c Shahid Afridi b Christian 2) Christian to Faheem Ashraf, 1 runs Christian to Faheem Ashraf, 4 runs Christian to Faheem Ashraf, 6 runs After over 17: Islamabad United 110/9 Junaid Khan to Muhammad Musa, no run Junaid Khan to Faheem Ashraf, 1 run Junaid Khan to Faheem Ashraf, no run Junaid Khan to Faheem Ashraf, no run Junaid Khan to Muhammad Musa, 1 run Junaid Khan to Faheem Ashraf, 1 run Junaid Khan to Faheem Ashraf, 1 wide After over 16: Islamabad United 106/9 Christian to Faheem Ashraf, 1 run Christian to Muhammad Musa, 1 run Christian to Muhammad Musa, no run Christian to Rumman Raees, OUT (lbw b Christian 0) Christian to Asif Ali, OUT (c †Umar Siddiq b Christian 22) Christian to Asif Ali, 6 runs After over 15: Islamabad United 98/7 Nauman Ali to Faheem Ashraf, no run Nauman Ali to Faheem Ashraf, 2 runs Nauman Ali to Shadab Khan, OUT (b Nauman Ali 4) Nauman Ali to Shadab Khan, no run Nauman Ali to Asif Ali, 1 leg bye Nauman Ali to Shadab Khan, 1 run After over 14: Islamabad United 94/6 Shahid Afridi to Asif Ali, 6 runs Shahid Afridi to Asif Ali, no run Shahid Afridi to Shadab Khan, 1 runs Shahid Afridi to Asif Ali, 1 run Shahid Afridi to Asif Ali, 6 runs Shahid Afridi to Asif Ali, 2 runs After over 13: Islamabad United 78/6 Mohammad Irfan to Shadab Khan, 2 runs Mohammad Irfan to Patel, OUT(c & b Mohammad Irfan 5) Mohammad Irfan to Asif Ali, 1 run Mohammad Irfan to Asif Ali, no run Mohammad Irfan to Asif Ali, no run Mohammad Irfan to Asif Ali, no run After over 12: Islamabad United 75/5 Shahid Afridi to Patel, OUT (c Vince b Shahid Afridi 20) Shahid Afridi to Patel, no run Shahid Afridi to Patel, 4 runs Shahid Afridi to Parnell, 1 run Shahid Afridi to Patel, 1 run Shahid Afridi to Parnell, 1 run After over 11: Islamabad United 68/4 Mohammad Irfan to Patel, no run Shahid Afridi to Parnell, 1 run Mohammad Irfan to Parnell, no run<doc-sep>
Former champions Peshawar Zalmi upstaged a sloppy Karachi Kings by 44 runs to maintain their second spot in the HBL Pakistan Super League, riding on a maiden PSL half century from opener Imam-ul-Haq and Hasan Ali’s four wickets in Sharjah on Thursday. Imam-ul-Haq top-scored for Peshawar in their 153-8 after 20 overs with a 43-ball 56 with five boundaries and a six while Liam Dawson made 33-ball 43 with a six and four boundaries after they were sent into bat by Karachi Kings captain Imad Wasim. Hasan’s 4-15 in four overs, three wickets in the 19th over, wrecked Karachi to 109-9 in 20 overs. Peshawar’s spearhead Hasan once again got a wicket off the very first ball, like he did against Islamabad United with Luke Ronchi’s scalp, as he dismissed Liam Livingstone first ball, trapping him leg before with a sharp incoming delivery. Karachi were then rocked by two runs outs, most notably when their star performer Babar Zaman was smartly run out by Hasan Ali who, after being turned down for a leg-before appeal, caught Babar by surprise with an athletic piece of fielding. Babar managed just one. That pushed Karachi to 13-2 which became 15-3 when the new arrival Ben Dunk was caught behind for 12. Colin Ingram struck three boundaries before another calamity struck. Ingram was run out by a smart piece of fielding by Imam as he failed to regain crease off a sharp single. Ingram made 14-ball 21. Zimbabwean Sikander Raza made 26-ball 14 as the asking run-rate mounted above ten. Raza in an attempt to push the rate, was bowled by Umaid Asif. Karachi were 80-5 after 15 overs and needed a big 74 runs in the last five overs, which proved beyond their reach. Imad (27-ball 26 with one boundary) and Mohammad Rizwan (27-ball 32 not out with two boundaries) added 49 for the sixth wicket but lack of boundaries hurt Karachi badly. Karachi batsmen failed to hit a single six. Hasan returned for his second spell to remove Imad, Aamer Yamin and Mohammad Amir in his last over to seal the match. The win kept Peshawar on the second spot with four points in three games, close on the heels of Quetta Gladiators who are top with three wins and six points. Multan Sultans, Islamabad United and Karachi are third, fourth and fifth while Lahore Qalandars are sixth and last, separated by net run-rate. It was Imam who anchored the innings after fellow opener Kamran Akmal was bowled by Yamin — one of two changes in Karachi side — for a duck in the second over. Imam added an invaluable 75 runs for the fourth wicket with Dawson after Peshawar were struggling at 49-4. It was Kamran’s 24th duck as he joins brother Umar as the batsman with second most ducks in all Twenty20s. West Indian Dwayne Smith leads the chart of most ducks in Twenty20 cricket. Both Sikander’s wickets were grabbed by part-timer Sikander Raza who finished with 2-23 in his four overs. Raza had Umar Amin for 15 and Danny Madsen for a third-ball duck in a double-wicket maiden. Imad Wasim bowled Kieron Pollard for nought to push Peshawar on the back foot before Imam and Dawson steadied the innings. Peshawar captain Darren Sammy used the long handle to the best effect, smashing three boundaries and a six in his ten-ball 24 not out, scoring 17 in the last over bowled by Yamin. Usman Shinwari also finished with 2-36 while Mohammad Amir took 1-22. Friday will be a double header day as Multan faces Lahore while Islamabad meet Peshawar.