KARACHI: A blistering, high-quality contest at the National Bank Stadium on Sunday night culminated in a statement chase from Islamabad United, powered by a scintillating knock from Mark Chapman, as they sealed second place in the HBL Pakistan Super League standings with a four-wicket win over Multan Sultans.

The result means United will now feature in Tuesday’s Qualifier at the same venue against table toppers Peshawar Zalmi, carrying with them not just momentum but the cushion of a second chance at reaching the final.

Chasing a daunting 193, United were guided by Chapman’s unbeaten 69 off just 33 balls — an innings that blended power, placement and composure, while also being aided by a string of costly fielding lapses by Sultans.

Earlier, Sultans’ innings had ebbed and flowed after a blazing start. Steven Smith and Sahibzada Farhan raced to 60 without loss inside six overs, treating anything loose with disdain.

Smith was particularly elegant, threading boundaries through cover and even scooping audaciously over the wicket-keeper, while Sahibzada punished width and length alike.

However, the innings shifted dramatically when both the openers fell in successive deliveries — Smith deceived by a slower ball from Salman Mirza and Sahibzada perishing to Shadab Khan immediately after.

From there, United bowlers applied the brakes through the middle overs. Shan Masood attempted to anchor the innings, mixing elegant drives with a slog-sweep six, but his stay was not without fortune — notably dropped by Shadab early in the southpaw’s innings.

Despite that reprieve, Shan’s 44 lacked the required acceleration, and regular wickets — including a sharp caught-and-bowled effort by Chris Green — kept Sultans in check.

The late surge, though, was emphatic. Arafat Minhas launched three towering sixes in a lively cameo, before Mohammad Wasim exploded in the final over, smashing two sixes and two fours to lift Sultans to a competitive 192-7.

That flourish — 67 runs off the last five overs — appeared decisive at the break.

United’s chase began briskly but unevenly, with early wickets preventing them from fully capitalising on a good start. Devon Conway and Mohsin Riaz struck boundaries freely, but both fell attempting to maintain the tempo.

The turning point, however, arrived quietly — and fatefully — when Chapman, on nought, was put down by Wasim. It was a moment that would haunt Sultans.

From there, Chapman steadily took control. He began by targeting the spinners, pulling and slog-sweeping with authority, before unfurling a series of clean strikes down the ground. A short ball from Peter Siddle was whipped over square leg, while a fuller delivery from Wasim was dispatched over long-on with a cracking sound off the bat.

At the other end, Shadab provided useful support with a fluent 36, peppered with boundaries through the off side, but it was Chapman who dictated terms as the equation tightened.

Even then, Sultans had opportunities — and squandered them. A misjudged effort in the deep by Faisal Akram allowed a boundary at a crucial stage, while another misfield at short third gifted Faheem Ashraf four invaluable runs. Earlier, overthrows, fumbles and hesitation had already added to United’s tally.

The errors compounded under pressure.

With 16 required off the last two overs, Chapman shifted gears seamlessly. He launched Wasim for a towering six over long-on before carving a boundary through cover — a shot that should have been stopped but wasn’t, thanks to another misfield.

Fittingly, the winning blow came in style — Chapman creating room and hammering a straight boundary past the bowler, watching it race away as United surged into second place with 13 points, and as a result Sultans dropped to third (12).

It was a chase defined by one man’s brilliance, but equally by the opposition’s inability to hold their nerve in the field — a combination that ultimately proved decisive in the race for the Qualifier.

SCOREBOARD

MULTAN SULTANS:

Sahibzada Farhan c Sameer b Shadab 30

Steven Smith c Conway b Mirza 30

Josh Philippe c Green b Imad 11

Shan Masood b Salman 44

Ashton Turner c&b Green 9

Arafat Minhas run out 31

Mohammad Imran c Mirza b Faheem 5

Mohammad Wasim not out 26

EXTRAS (B-2, W-4) 6

TOTAL (for seven wickets, 20 overs) 192

DID NOT BAT: Peter Siddle, Muhammad Ismail, Faisal Akram

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-60 (Smith), 2-60 (Sahibzada), 3-102 (Philippe), 4-113 (Turner), 5-129 (Shan), 6-136 (Imran), 7-192 (Arafat)

BOWLING: Imad 4-0-23-1, Mirza 3-0-53-1 (2w), Salman 3-0-37-1, Faheem 3-0-23-1 (2w), Shadab 3-0-25-1, Green 4-0-29-1

ISLAMABAD UNITED:

Devon Conway c Smith b Imran 18

Sameer Minhas c Arafat b Ismail 1

Mohsin Riaz c Ismail b Faisal 25

Shadab Khan c Smith b Wasim 36

Mark Chapman not out 69

Haider Ali c Sahibzada b Faisal 13

Faheem Ashraf c Imran b Siddle 11

Chris Green not not 5

EXTRAS (LB-2, NB-1, W-12) 15

TOTAL (for six wickets, 18.4 overs) 193

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-10 (Sameer), 2-41 (Conway), 3-72 (Mohsin), 4-135 (Shadab), 5-154 (Haider), 6-171 (Faheem)

DID NOT BAT: Imad Wasim, Salman Mirza, Salman Irshad

BOWLING: Imran 4-0-40-1 (3w), Ismail 3-0-29-1 (1nb), Siddle 3-0-24-1 (1w), Wasim 2.4-0-40-1, Faisal 4-0-41-2 (2w), Turner 2-0-17-0 (1w)

RESULT: Islamabad United won by four wickets.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Mark Chapman

POINTS TABLE

(Tabulated under matches, won, lost, no result, points, run-rate)

Peshawar Zalmi 10 8 1 1 17 2.324

Islamabad United 10 6 3 1 13 1.667

Multan Sultans 10 6 4 0 12 0.326

Hyderabad Kingsmen 10 5 5 0 10 -0.361

Lahore Qalandars 10 5 5 0 10 -0.482

Karachi Kings 10 5 5 0 10 -0.869

Quetta Gladiators 10 3 7 0 6 -0.410

Rawalpindiz 10 1 9 0 2 -1.760

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2026