Islamabad United go three in three after Holder's all-round heroics

Jason Holder (32* off 14 and 4-25) had a perfect all-rounder's outing as Islamabad United downed Multan Sultans by 47 runs in Rawalpindi.

Put into bat after rain forced a delayed start, Islamabad posted a healthy total of 202 on the back of a collective batting effort led by Sahibzada Farhan (53 off 35) and Colin Munro (48 off 25). Holder, along with Haider Ali (33 off 16), gave the perfect finishing touches to ensure a strong total for their side. Multan Sultans started promisingly through Mohammad Rizwan (38 off 27) and Usman Khan (31 off 20), but once their stand was broken, the innings stagnated and they fell way short in the end.

Rizwan's decision to bowl at the toss was logical, given the delayed start and tacky conditions. However, things didn't go to plan as Islamabad hammered 62 in the PowerPlay to get the perfect start to the game. Despite losing Gous early, there was no let-up in the intent as Farhan and Munro went hard in the first six overs. Sultans did do well to stage a comeback in the middle overs, and it seemed like Islamabad would be kept to a total of 185 or below. However, Haider and Holder came to the party to launch a thrilling onslaught.

The strong finish gave momentum to United as they then struck early through Naseem Shah, who removed Shai Hope early. However, like the Islamabad innings, Multan also didn't seem bothered by the early wicket, as Rizwan and Usman capitalised on the PowerPlay to match their opposition in terms of runs. The duo's counterattack gave hope to the Sultans camp, but Islamabad roared back into the contest through their experienced spin duo of Imad Wasim and Shadab Khan.

While the left-arm spinner dislodged Usman, Shadab got rid of Rizwan to break the game open. From then on, the Islamabad bowlers strangled the run flow, and none of the Sultans batters thereafter got any tempo to their innings. Iftikhar Ahmed battled hard but was nowhere close to his fluent best. The scoreboard pressure played nicely into Holder's hands, and the West Indian scalped four to make it a perfect game for himself.

Brief scores: Islamabad United 202/6 in 20 overs (Sahibzada Farhan 53, Colin Munro 48; Chris Jordan 2-41) beat Multan Sultans 155 in 18.4 overs (Mohammad Rizwan 38, Usman Khan 31; Jason Holder 4-25) by 47 runs.