Skip to main content

Editor’s Pick (PSL T20): Multan Sultans - Islamabad United

By
PSL 25

Multan Sultans would now wonder what on earth happened. They are still doing well. They are still only one point short of the team that is on top of the table. They are still fourth on the table. With a bad run rate of -0.004. They need to get back on top. Islamabad United, on the other hand, is second on the table and quite pleased with themselves. Defending Champions are second to last on the table and have no idea what happened either. They probably do.
Lahore Qalandars are showing signs of life now having won the second match by taking it to the super over level. (Lahore Qalandars defeated Karachi Kings).
That was really something. Goes to show that we can neither sign off a team until the last minute nor guarantee that the defending champions are a shoo-in for the next round.

Today’s match is between Multan Sultans and Islamabad United. With some brilliant performances being displayed by both teams, this match will be a good clash to watch. The venue moves to Sharjah.

Multan Sultans
Lost three matches in a row. To Karachi Kings, To Lahore Qalandars and To Quetta Gladiators. They are in a very low phase now and need to win to be able to make it to the playoffs without any added stress. Multan Sultans sees this as a must-win game. The last three matches saw a collective failure of all departments. What had clicked in the first half of the tournament seems to have switched off in the second half. Ahmed Shehzad needs to remember that this is a T20 match and must not take his own time to settle down. Pressure on middle order batsmen has to be reduced. The captain is overdue.
Key Players
Kumar Sangakkara
Imran Tahir
Kieron Pollard
Umar Gul
Shoaib Malik
Sohaib Maqsood

Islamabad United
Has won four matches in a row. Looks like the team is back on track and is set to make way for the playoffs. The team started slow and has managed to make up in the last four encounters. Senior overseas players are making their mark very well in the PSL here. Experience matters just as much as the presence. Misbah Ul Haq might not have performed as a batsman, but he has played an important role in the overall performance of the team. Alex Hales and Sam Billings can be counted upon as they join the league now.
Key Players
Misbah Ul Haq
JP Duminy
Luke Ronchi
Asif Ali
Hussain Talat
Samit Patel

What do you think?
Indu


Reactions:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans - Post Match Blog.

By
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. Ain't it true. Newcomers Sultans thrash Peshawar Zalmi by 7 wickets in PSL 2018 opener sending shockwaves through the league. Being a defending champion did take a toll on Peshawar Zalmi. Not easy walking into a tournament with everyone looking at you assuming you will win.


When the Sultans came in to bat, they had an early upset when they lost the opener for a duck. With a target of 152, it took the experienced Kumara Sangakkara to set the ship on course towards the target. He was calm and composed as he has been throughout his international career. Singles and doubles. And planned boundaries. By the time he was out, caught behind, the team was fairly stable. Shoaib Malik’s captain knock along with Kieron Pollard finished the match in style.
Earlier in the day, Peshawar Zalmi came in to bat. Apart from Mohammad Hafeez’s 59, with twenty-something runs from Dwayne Smith and Darren Sammy; the rest of the batsmen barely contributed. Like I s…
Post a Comment
Read more

Fan Data Analytics: Key to drive sports company growth

By
Over the last several years, the buzz word in business and IT circles has been "big-data" and analytics. Many many articles and write-ups talk about them so I won't go into the details. You could get enough to last a lifetime with just the first few results of a Google search of these terms. But do you really know how it applies, specifically to a sports company?

For long, sports franchises have been one of the biggest users of analytics. Before this was a buzz word, coaches and managers have relied up numbers and finding patterns in them to drive on-field performance. Indeed, the major leagues of the world have relied on performance analytics for everything from scouting for talent to calling the action on the field of play.

But that never transcended to the off-field, more mundane but equally important task of managing the sports business. As more and more options come up vying for the fan's attention - live events, travel, other sports, TV, the Internet - the war…
3 comments
Read more

Tennis - a new season with exciting prospects

By
This article is written by Rajnikanth - a sports fan and a tennis fanatic.  He is on a personal mission to watch ATP events in every place possible :-) and is hoping that his god 'Roger Federer' wins a few more tournaments in 2014.  Rajni is a banker and is based in the middle east.  You can reach Rajni on his email - rajnikanth_r@yahoo.com


The new year was rung in with greetings from players across the world, followed by some key announcements. The new season is already a fortnight old and there have been plenty of excitement and several developments - on the Tennis court and off it!
Rafael Nadal continued his good run since his comeback in Feb 2013 but also suffered a rare loss at the hands of his compatriot, Davis Cup team mate and good friend David Ferrer in the exhibition tournament at Abu Dhabi and finished third. However, the following week, he won the Qatar Open, earning 500 ATP points and extending his lead over Novak Djokovic who continues to hold the second spot in th…
1 comment
Read more