Imad Wasim the hero as Islamabad scramble to two-wicket win in epic PSL final

Multan Sultans might possess the formula for getting to PSL finals, but it's Islamabad United who know how to win them. Déjà vu struck for the Sultans, who saw yet another PSL final snatched away from them off the final delivery in a low-scoring thriller of a final. Imad Wasim was United's hero, having turned back the years to deliver a sensational all-round performance, taking five wickets before ensuring he was out in the middle to watch Hunain Shah angle the final delivery behind point to seal United's third title.

If the drama of last year's epic final - which Sultans lost by a run - could not be eclipsed, it was certainly emulated in Karachi today. United appeared to have won that final at several stages through both innings, never more than when they reduced the Sultans to 127 for 9. But Iftikhar Ahmed's cameo - an unbeaten 32 off 20 balls, got the Sultans to 159, a total that a stellar bowling attack felt they just about had the personnel to defend.

And what a defence they mounted. United opened the batting with two 37-year old New Zealanders, having dropped the out-of-form Alex Hales, even if Colin Munro was clearly still struggling with the leg injury that kept him out of the previous three games. While Martin Guptill made the most of the Powerplay, clean timing and pure power on full display, Sultans chipped away from the other end, bogging United down with a slew of spinners on a surface that had begun to grip.

Khushdil Shah's twin strikes removed Munro and Salman Ali Agha, before, at some point impossible to define, what should have been a cakewalk became a grind. Shadab Khan, supremely assured with bat all tournament, attempted a panicked slog after an unconvincing start off Iftikhar, and paid for it with his wicket. Azam Khan struggled to get going, and even Guptill was being dragged back to earth as nerves began to shackle the most fluid team in the PSL.

But there's only one way United know how to get out of trouble, and Azam and Guptill began to free their arms once more. Guptill scythed down Usama Mir, the leading wicket-taker of the tournament, with two sixes and a four, before Azam plundered 15 off a wayward Chris Jordan over, and the pendulum swung again.

But it was never going to be straightforward, and a mix-up between the pair saw Guptill depart after a swashbuckling half-century. David Willey, perhaps this year's stand-out fast bowler, struck to put down Haider Ali, whose power-hitting in the eliminator got United to this stage. Iftikhar, whose contribution so often this evening looked as if it would be decisive, prised out Faheem Ashraf, the man who, six years ago, had struck the six that sealed United's last title, and suddenly, all that was left was Imad and the tail.

Late on in the first innings, Imad had sneaked into the dressing-room to have a quick smoke, but there was no getting away from the stress he was under now. A decisive battle between Iftikhar and Naseem Shah, and then Jordan and Imad, in the 18th and 19th overs finally looked to have tipped the game off the tightrope it had been walking until then, with 23 off those two overs bringing the equation down to eight off six. A clip through mid-on brought the game down to below a run-a-ball, and a pair of singles levelled the scores.

But the drama just wouldn't end. Naseem miscued a pull shot with the ball kissing the edge, and as one Shah walked off, his younger brother Hunain was tasked with finishing the job off. And while he looked like the calmest man as he poked it through the infield to seal the win, the sobs he broke into afterwards belied the steely front the 20-year old had put on.

But though United's win was ultimately wild and frenetic, how they set it up in the first innings was its polar opposite. A gameplan that was designed craftily was executed to perfection, using Imad and Shadab in the powerplay to smother a Sultans top order that has looked imperious all the way through this season. Mohammad Rizwan would have fallen in the first over but for an overstepped Naseem right boot, while Yasir Khan was deceived in the flight by a canny Imad the following over. Sultans' attempt at a low-value wicket saw them send in Willey, but he would last just three balls, a hoick followed by a chop that rattled into the stumps.

Usman Khan has been the Sultans' unlikely standout batting star, but United refused to let any batter truly gain momentum. Naseem accuracy was metronomic and his pace fearsome, so while he never picked up a wicket, his first three overs went for just nine. It was built around eight overs of devastating spin from Shadab and Imad, who picked up eight wickets between them, including a collapse that saw the Sultans lose 5 wickets in 12 balls and teeter on the brink at 127.

But United hadn't quite managed to account for Iftikhar, the man with the highest strike-rate this tournament, and he made sure to save his best for last. Slogging with the magical freedom that clarity of thoughts can give you, he walloped Mills for 13, and then an otherwise faultless Naseem for 18 in the final over to get his side up to 159, a below-par score, but not an indefensible one. He had held up his end of the bargain with both bat and ball, but his team-mates had built up a debt he could, despite his best efforts never truly pay off. And when United came to collect, they ensured they took the silverware with them.