Finally, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) was able to conclude the HBL PSL-6 in a successful manner after going through some tough time ahead of the second leg in Abu Dhabi. There were various issues but the Board remained successful in handling them after a period of uncertainty. This was the second time in the last two years that the PSL had to be completed in two phases due to Covid-19 issues.Multan Sultans were crowned champions of the sixth edition at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi when they downed former champions Peshawar Zalmi by 47 runs in the final on June 24.

This was the maiden crown for Sultans who did not celebrate much as the national team, carrying some of their players, flew to England the following day. But it was a fantastic win for Multan. After losing some games in the Karachi leg, it seemed highly unlikely for Multan to make it to the playoffs but Mohammad Rizwan-led side won four matches on the trot to ensure their playoffs spot before losing their final league game against two-time champions Islamabad United.

In the Qualifier they toppled United and in the final they did a wonderful job to down Zalmi to clinch their maiden title.

Rizwan led the side by example. He kept nerves in pressure situation, got the best out of his bowling resources to create some stunning results.

In the final when Shoaib Malik and Sherfane Rutherford were batting dangerously while chasing 207, Rizwan stood like a rock and made some good decisions on the field which took the game away from Zalmi as Imran Tahir bowled excellently.

Sohaib Maqsood was the hero of Multan’s successful journey as he was seen in sublime form, scoring a few fine fifties in the Abu Dhabi leg. The solid show earned him a national team slot after five and a half years.

South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw, who remained out of touch in the entire event, hit a fiery 21-ball fifty in the final. Young pacer Shahnawaz Dhani, who emerged as the best bowler of the event, Imran Khan Senior, Sohail Tanvir, Zimbabwe’s bowling sensation Blessing Muzarabani and Imran Tahir did a wonderful job with the leather for the champions who had lost their star allrounder Shahid Afridi for the Abu Dhabi leg because of an injury.

Rizwan and Shan Masood did well for Multan in the top order and then Sohaib and Khushdil Shah batted impressively.

Multan were the only team to keep playing with six specialist batsmen and five specialist bowlers. Only Sohail Tanvir provided some all round performances, scoring a few runs in death overs. But overall it was the specialist batting unit which carried Multan’s batting load and their strategy was highly successful.

Zalmi were unlucky as just hours before the decider they lost their two key players, pacer Umaid Asif and young batting sensation Haider Ali, who were suspended for violating the bio-secure bubble protocols. Haider was out of form but Zalmi definitely missed Umaid who had been highly impressive in the entire season.

Zalmi’s explosive opener Hazratullah Zazai, who won for them both the Eliminators, did not click in the final. Kamran Akmal played a few good innings, but overall he did not play the role which was expected of him as a seasoned opener.

Shoaib Malik was stunning with the bat for Zalmi. He always made the difference, playing four good innings in the Abu Dhabi leg. He showed that he is still one of the best T20 players of the world.

As a bowling unit, Zalmi were spearheaded by skipper Wahab Riaz who showed his real form and was ably backed by tall left-armer Mohammad Irfan and Umaid. Young pacer Mohammad Imran was also impressive. Zalmi lacked a spinner with impact and they also lost South Africa’s David Miller at the most crucial stage as he flew due to national commitment after winning a couple of matches for Zalmi.

Karachi Kings, having qualified for playoffs as the fourth side on points table, failed to defend the title. They were dethroned when they faced a five-wicket loss in the Eliminator-1 against Zalmi.

Babar Azam remained supreme for Kings in the entire season with seven fifties. He also became the first batsman to reach the 500-run mark in PSL. He was later joined by Rizwan who also achieved the 500-run milestone. Kings skipper Imad Wasim also got his form back and did well near the end.

The 2016 and 2018 champions Islamabad United had a brilliant journey as they finished as the group leaders with seven wins from ten games. But they did not click at the crunch stage, losing back-to-back games in the playoffs.

Australian Usman Khawaja and New Zealand’s Colin Munro did well with the bat for them, while Iftikhar Ahmed and Asif Ali also played a few brilliant innings.

Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf ( who also missed matches due to injury ) left an impact with the ball along with rookies Akif Javed and Mohammad Waseem Junior who showed promise, especially in the death overs as he has developed some good yorkers also.

Waseem is in Pakistan team currently touring England. Lahore Qalandars, the 2020 season’s runners-up, had a poor Abu Dhabi leg. Riding on initial three wins in the Karachi leg, they pocketed two more wins in the start to reach ten points. At that stage being at the table summit it seemed that a single more win would put them in playoffs but it did not happen as they lost four games on the trot and got eliminated as their net run-rate also fell drastically.

On paper they were the strongest side but as usual Abu Dhabi turned out to be a graveyard for them. Their two key home batsmen Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Hafeez remained off-colour with Singapore’s Tim David and Australian Ben Dunk scoring runs for them here and there along with skipper Sohail Akhtar.

In bowling, they had Shaheen Afridi, world-class leggie Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and T20 specialist Haris Rauf but they did not impress when needed.

It was a painful journey for the 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators as they finished at the rock bottom with just two wins from ten games. The team lacked the killer instinct and seemed demoralised. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed could not lead the side by example.

Overall it was a good event and people enjoyed it well as some crunch games were witnessed despite the hot and humid conditions in Abu Dhabi.

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