Karachi hosted its biggest cricket match in over nine years as the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was held in the country’s largest city on Sunday.
A packed house gathered to watch Islamabad United take on Peshawar Zalmi. Thousands of Pakistan cricket supporters were outside the stadium hours before the action got underway at the National Stadium.
The crowd got their money’s worth as Islamabad United captured their second PSL title with a three-wicket win.
Peshawar skipper Darren Sammy won the toss and elected to bat first. A sublime spell of bowling from Shadab Khan (3-25) restricted Sammy’s men to 148-9. A blistering start by Islamabad openers Luke Ronchi and Sahibzada Farhan set the eventual champions on the way as the pair put on 96 runs for the opening wicket.
Peshawar’s bowlers staged a late comeback with a quick succession of wickets but it was too little, too late as Islamabad United won with more than three overs to spare.
Images courtesy Getty Images and PSL (Twitter).