Across the borders both the Twenty20 Leagues resumed after cross-border missile attacks which escalated tension between Pakistan and India which suspended the events in both the countries.
Pakistan Cricket Board initially relocated the remaining eight matches to Dubai before postponing the event. Once the ceasefire was reached the line up for the play-offs was decided after four thrilling matches. Multan Sultans with one win out of ten had bowed out before the postponement while Peshawar Zalmi crashed out of the play-offs for the first time in PSL’s history with four wins and six losses.
The play-offs of the tournament will now be held in Lahore, with the final on May 25. Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United kickstart the playoffs with Qualifier 1 on Wednesday, while arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings face off in the Eliminator on Thursday.
Quetta outlasted Multan Sultan in their last game by two wickets in a thriller with fast-rising Hasan Nawaz hitting the last ball from Mohammad Hasnain for a six to seal a place in the Qualifier.
Hasan, who scored a hundred in a Twenty20 in New Zealand, has a stellar PSL, hitting 64 not out in a thrilling penultimate ball finish against Islamabad United earlier. Hasan also knocked a magnificent hundred against the same opponents. The new kid has the most sixes in the competition with 23.
Quetta was the worst hit team after resumption as none of the New Zealand players returned while Sri Lankan Kusal Mendis changed his guard and joined the Indian Premier League.
Despite the depletion, Quetta played like Gladiators and will now face Islamabad United in the Qualifier in Lahore on Wednesday, finishing three points clear of the field at the top of the six-team table and now Gladiators look favourites for a first final since they won their only title in 2019.
Quetta's bowling has also stood out with leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed second on the chart of bowlers with 15 while Faheem Ashraf has shown his abilities as allrounder with 14 scalps. Khurram Shahzad has 12 and Mohammad Amir 10.
Islamabad United revived their campaign after losing their last four games on the back of five wins. They thumped the sloppy Karachi Kings by a healthy 79-run margin. The three-time champions -- also title-holders -- needed to win by 49 runs or achieve the target with 33 balls to spare.
They made a mince meat of Karachi's much touted bowling attack with Alex Hales and Sahibzada Farhan knocking a 153-run stand for the opening wicket off just 69 balls. That provided the cornerstone for a healthy 251-run total. The capstone was provided by spinners Shadab Khan with four wickets and Imad Wasim three.
Islamabad's opener Farhan is top of the batter's chart with 394 with James Vince of Karachi Kings second on 373 and :Lahore's Fakhar Zaman third on 369.
Islamabad United may have lost the in-form Jason Holder, 15 wickets this edition, Colin Munro and Andries Gous but with their cordial management managed to get Hales, Rassie van der Dussen, James Neesham and Tymal Mills. The best thing for them is the return to form and fitness of skipper Shadab Khan. Shadab hit a rapidfire 42 and took 4-45 against Karachi Kings. That augurs well for them in the final stages.
Karachi Kings have managed to get into their first play-offs after three barren years. They looked well set to finish in the top two but their much vaunted bowling attack was castigated in the Islamabad game. Three of their bowlers -- Abbas Afridi, Khushdil Shah and Aamer Jamal conceded 160 runs in 12 combined overs.
Lahore Qalandars are in the play-offs for the fourth time. They played finals on three previous occasions when they qualified for the play-offs, winning back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. Qalandars' batting heavily depends on Fakhar while the loss of Sam Billings and Daryl Mitchell has taken the bite out of their batting.
The tenth edition is a forgettable one for Peshawar Zalmi who committed the same mistake time and again -- mostly deciding wrongly at the toss. They bowled on a belter against Karachi Kings in Rawalpindi and were punished with a total of 237.
Although Babar Azam played a brilliant 49-ball 94 run knock, there was no support. Peshawar were also averse to playing a spinner in their eleven with Arif Yaqoob (four) and Sufiyan Muqeem (three) were under played.
Multan Sultans had the worst possible season, finishing with one win in ten matches.
