The 2021 Pakistan Super League finally reaches its conclusion on Thursday when Multan Sultans take on Peshawar Zalmi at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
Initially suspended in March as a response to the pandemic, the PSL relocated to the UAE capital earlier this month to complete the remaining 20 matches of the season.
With one game to go, here is all you need to know ahead of the final.
How to watch on TV
The match will be broadcast on the Etisalat eLife package in the UAE.
Likely starting XIs
Multan Sultans: 1 Shan Masood, 2 Mohammed Rizwan, 3 Sohaib Maqsood, 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 Johnson Charles, 6 Khushdil Shah, 7 Sohail Tanvir, 8 Imran Tahir, 9 Blessing Muzarabani, 10 Imran Khan, 11 Shahnawaz Dahani
Peshawar Zalmi: 1 Kamran Akmal, 2 Hazratullah Zazai, 3 Jonathan Wells, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Ammad Butt, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Umaid Asif, 10 Mohammed Irfan, 11 Mohammed Imran
Form
Multan Sultans: WWWWWW
Peshawar Zalmi: WWLWLW
How they finished in the points table
Team M W L Pts NRR
1 Islamabad United 10 8 2 16 0.859
2 Multan Sultans 10 5 5 10 1.050
3 Peshawar Zalmi 10 5 5 10 0.586
4 Karachi Kings 10 5 5 10 -0.115
5 Lahore Qalandars 10 5 5 10 -0.589
6 Quetta Gladiators 10 2 8 4 -1.786
Key match-ups
Mohammed Rizwan v Wahab Riaz
The final pits together two captains who have plenty to keep them busy besides tactics. Rizwan has excelled with the bat and gloves this tournament, and overseen a late-season charge to the big match.
His opposite number, Wahab, has been fairly pricey with the ball, but has got crucial wickets. His haul of 18 in the competition is second only to Multan’s Shahnawaz Dahani.
If Wahab can knock over his opposite number cheaply, it could go a long way to deciding the winners.
Blessing Muzarabani v Hazratullah Zazai
Hazratullah has been player of the match in three of his four PSL matches, but has yet to go up against the Multan bowlers.
His excellence in UAE conditions dates back years, to that time when he hit six sixes in an over in an Afghanistan Premier League match in Sharjah.
It suggests he thrives on low-bouncing wickets, so Multan might consider throwing the ball to their towering Zimbabwean seamer Muzarabani, and see if he can extract some jarring bounce.
Sohaib Maqsood v Mohammed Irfan
Few players have hit the ball as crisply as Maqsood has managed since the tournament decamped to Abu Dhabi.
Whether left-arm fast bowler Irfan can recover fitness before the final remains to be seen.
He looked in all sorts of agony when he received treatment for a calf injury in Monday’s final eliminator, although it was later described as merely cramp.
If he does take his place in the XI, he might be key to stemming Maqsood’s free-scoring, much of which has come from the power of his driving.
