Paul Radley
SHARJAH // As a competition that has had more rain delays than any other series in UAE cricket history gets set for a sunny finale, Chris Gayle is preparing for a storming finish.
The West Indian joked after his match-winning 44 off 17 balls on Sunday night saw Karachi Kings through to a playoff against Islamabad United, that the lack of sunshine over the past two weeks had hindered his form.
He went on to acknowledge he had no excuses for the poor run of scores that have plagued him since the HBL Pakistan Super League first began last season.
He does hope, though, that his blitz in the rain-shortened final league fixture, against the same opposition Karachi face in Wednesday night’s second qualifying final, might be a watershed for him.
“It has been a low-scoring tournament for me from a personal point of view, and sometimes these things do happen,” Gayle said.
“Hopefully this is the start a new beginning for PSL and I can build on this. We have another opportunity against the same team, and I am looking forward to that.”
Dean Jones, the Islamabad United coach, said Gayle’s belated return to form against his side was no surprise, but he believes his team can still deal with the resurgent opener.
Islamabad were in a similar position to this last year, and eventually became the first PSL champions after winning their final five matches. Jones is hopeful of a similar culmination to this year’s event.
“If you put a guy in a corner he is going to come out fighting you,” Jones said.
“He is one of the greatest of all time at this form of the game. [But] if there is one thing about this Islamabad team, it is that they won’t give in.
“Throughout this tournament, lot of things haven’t gone our way. It is well documented what went against us at the start [when two players were suspended pending a corruption investigation], but we finished third.
“We have a chance, we just have to see what happens from here.”
Tickets start at Dh30 for general admission, and are available at pslticket.com. The matches are shown live on OSN Cricket HD.
Key matchup
Mohammed Sami v Kieron Pollard
Pollard has been slowly warming to his task in this competition. The giant West Indian has scored the winning runs in each of the past two matches, as Karachi Kings have started to gain traction just at the right time.
He is in a league of his own as a fielder, while his six-hitting capabilities make him an intimidating opponent in the death throes of matches.
Good job, then, that the defending champions have in their ranks a fast bowler who has been there, seen it, done it. Sami won an unwinnable match against Quetta to seal United’s place in the playoffs. He will not be daunted by facing Pollard.
HBL Pakistan Super League — Playoffs
Wednesday, Second qualifying final
Sharjah Cricket Stadium, 8pm start
Karachi Kings v Islamabad United
Friday, March 3, Third qualifying final
Dubai International Stadium, 8pm start
Loser of Tuesday’s match v Winner of Wednesday’s match
Head to head
10th match, Sharjah — Karachi Kings beat Islamabad United by eight runs (D/L method)
20th match, Dubai — Karachi Kings beat Islamabad United by six wickets, with one ball remaining
pradley@thenational.ae
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