PSL round-up: Red-hot Babar, unlucky Karachi, and a series of last-ball thrillers

For a while, as Karachi Kings desperately tried to avoid exiting at the group stage for the third successive season, there was one final splutter as they tried to keep their heads above water. And it gave us four matches, and three consecutive days of play that this season will be remembered for.

It began with the big city derby, or as the other sides would call it, the basement battle. Karachi and Lahore Qalandars went down to the last ball again, with the Kings needing three to win to stay alive. Forty-two-year old Shoaib Malik was on strike against Zaman Khan, a man who wasn't born when he made his international debut. Zaman had bowled a sensational last over conceding just five, but miscued a wide yorker. Malik put the full toss away for four, and mayhem ensued at the National Stadium. (Or it would have if there were more than a few hundred people there).

Karachi needed Multan Sultans and Lahore to win the following day, and both seemed on track. But an astonishing onslaught from a limping Colin Munro brought Islamabad United within touching distance, before Imad Wasim's cameo at the death saw him smash the final ball for four and drive one more nail into his former side's coffin.

Having beaten Lahore just 24 hours ago, Karachi needed them to defeat Quetta Gladiators, and once more, it looked as if they'd get their wish until a cruel last-ball twist of fate. But Mohammad Wasim, promoted up the order, slapped Shaheen Shah Afridi for a last ball six when Quetta needed four to win, officially ensuring Lahore were taking Karachi down with them.

To add insult to injury, Shan Masood's men lost a last-ball contest of their own to seal their campaign, when Aamer Jamal held his nerve to deny Karachi a parting win. Masood would later bemoan fine margins and the last ball finishes that went against his side while seemingly ignoring the ones that had gone Karachi's way. They had, essentially, left too much up to variance, and come out the wrong end.

There have been four hundreds this PSL, and two of them have come from uncapped Usman Khan, despite playing just five matches all season. The Multan player appears to be T20 cricket's full package, with a range of shots all around the ground, equally skilled at the classical cricketing shots as he is at modern T20 creativity. His PSL hundreds against Karachi and Islamabad came in consecutive matches, and his form is imperious enough to make you wonder why Multan haven't picked him more often.

So he'll be on Pakistan's radar for the T20 World Cup this summer, right? Right?

Well, it's complicated. Not least because he's officially a UAE player, having switched allegiances a few years earlier. He hasn't played a game for them either, mind, so there's theoretically still an opportunity for Pakistan to poach him back. All they need is a chairman singularly focused on his role, and a board that is strong, stable, and secure in their jobs. Surely, the PCB should have no problem managing that. Right?

Finally, what was all that brouhaha around Babar Azam's captaincy over the winter? Babar was pushed out of the role after the World Cup, but while the men who replaced him have seen their teams exit at the first hurdle, Peshawar Zalmi are one game away from the PSL final. This week saw them ride a wave of fresh momentum, winning their last three games, including against Multan Sultans, the side they'll face in the qualifier on Thursday.

Under Daren Sammy's stewardship, you'd expect nothing less than a happy bunch, but Babar's own form this tournament has been dazzling. It can perhaps feel blasé to see him top the scoring charts every year - as if that's not an achievement in itself - but this year, it is that strike rate which stands out. His 498 runs (a full 132 more than anyone else) have come at 148.65, a smidge under Kieron Pollard's SR of 151.26. Among players with over 250 runs, Saim Ayub is the only Pakistan player with a better strike rate, and he has formed one of the more imperious opening stands with his captain.

Babar has demonstrated he isn't just a player at the top of his T20 game, but one who continues to evolve. And as the PSL enters its business stages, Babar's Zalmi have as good a chance as any to win their first PSL title in seven years.