The PSL playoffs are upon us, with jostling for positions continuing until the final day of the league stage. Hyderabad Kingsmen supplanted Lahore Qalandars with an epic win over Rawalpindiz to sneak through the backdoor, while Islamabad United bested Multan Sultans to earn the right to a qualifier against Peshawar Zalmi, who had cemented top spot long ago.
ESPNcricinfo takes a brief look at how each of the four qualifiers shape up.
Peshawar Zalmi
Zalmi are clear cut favourites, having not lost a game until the final league match a full month, after they played their first. They played just two matches in the first fortnight, with one washout against Islamabad United, but once they hit their stride, there was no stopping.
They have the two highest run-scorers in the tournament in Kusal Mendis and Babar Azam, who are closing in on the record for most partnership runs in a PSL season. They average 82.42 together, with three century stands in seven games, and, in their stride, have bossed all phases. To boot, Zalmi also boast the top wicket-taker at this PSL, left-arm spinner Sufiyan Muqeem. His ability to combine potency with parsimony has given him 19 wickets at an economy rate under 7.50.
However, there are warning signs. For one, Zalmi haven't played United, their qualifier opponents, at all, with their only game rained off. United are a play-off juggernaut with a rich history of winning during the back-end of seasons. Zalmi may have reached the last four in all but one season, but this is where they historically come unstuck. Having made three back-to-back finals from 2017 to 2019, they have not reached a single one in the previous six seasons. They have played the most playoff matches in PSL history, but with an 8-12 record, no other side has lost nearly as many games.
Their depth of bowling stocks is also a concern. Muqeem aside, their only other wicket-taker to feature in the top ten is Iftikhar Ahmed, whose surprise success with part-time offspin they will not wish to over-rely on. Ali Raza is rapid but invariably inconsistent at his age while Nahid Rana's absence is a huge miss. To succeed, they need their big guns to keep up their prolific form for one more week.
Islamabad United
United's menace comes from their stratospheric ceiling. At their irresistible best, no team can truly live with their dazzling displays. Brushing aside an opening defeat, they cantered through the group stages, never in doubt of qualification, and then struck at the end with successive wins against eventual qualifiers Hyderabad Kingsmen and Multan Sultans to guarantee two bites at a spot for the final.
Unlike Zalmi, United are not overly reliant on individual performers. But that doesn't mean there haven't been standouts. Shadab Khan's return to form with the ball has been a revelation. He is the fourth highest wicket-taker with an unbeatable economy rate, restricting batters to 6.46, none of the other wicket-takers in the top 12 have managed a rate below 7. Sameer Minhas' contributions with the bat have excited both United and Pakistan supporters, and around them, their teammates have dotted contributions together as their engines crank up to full throttle.
United's main vulnerability might be the lack of consistent firepower with the bat this year. Devon Conway is not in the top ten runscorers, but he's United's second-highest, and a strike-rate below 130 is not very on-brand for this franchise. Aside from him and Minhas, no United batters feature in the top 20, and though Mark Chapman's blazing innings on Sunday was welcome, it was an exception rather than the rule. That flatness with the bat, somewhat bizarrely, was best exposed against Rawalpindiz, with United holding the ignominy of being the only side to lose to that team this year.
But in the playoffs, no team has as much winning experience. Their 10 wins at this stage is a tournament record, their three PSL titles put them joint-top. They have little to fear, not even Zalmi.
Multan Sultans
Perhaps the best compliment you can pay the Sultans is that, despite being a new team in all but name, this actually looks like a vintage Multan side. The players have been well-scouted, the team works together nicely, they play PSL cricket in a recognisable way, and they have little trouble powering through group stages.
They set the tone with an opening game win over Islamabad, and in Sahibzada Farhan and Steven Smith, Sultans perhaps possess the best mix of consistency and explosiveness, with both in the top five runscorers, and with strike rates in the 160s. Josh Philippe and Shan Masood have found some of their best form in a while, and handing the armband to a seasoned T20 competition winner like Ashton Turner over a star name appears an inspired decision.
A late dip in form has placed them in a slightly vulnerable position, with two losses in their final two dropping them into the eliminator against an in-form Hyderabad Kingsmen that boasts five wins in their last six. Another point of concern, perhaps, is that their bright start cloaks the fact they have not won a game against a fellow qualifying team since April 1. Since then, all four wins have come against eliminated sides, while they have lost once to each team currently with them in the playoffs.
Hyderabad Kingsmen
Perhaps the most engaging story of the competition. The Kingsmen spent the first half of the PSL competing with Rawalpindiz for the wooden spoon, each edging the other out in the shambolic mess they appeared to have made of their campaign. Marnus Labuschagne was captain, having never done that before anywhere in the world. Glenn Maxwell hadn't yet arrived. Saim Ayub and Usman Khan couldn't buy a run, and Sharjeel Khan appeared their best top-order hope. Oh, and for some reason, Hunain Shah wasn't playing.
What a difference the last couple of weeks have made. Labuschagne has appeared to evolve in real time as a leader the group looks up to, and as a batter who has developed the skill-set required at this tournament. Maxwell has hit his straps as both batter and bowler, most explosively in that famous net-run-rate boosting win over Rawalpindiz to take them through. Usman Khan has lit up the second half of the tournament. And Hunain has, at times, looked like the best fast bowler all tournament, confidence up and ball swinging.
This campaign is primarily built on momentum. The Kingsmen remain a deeply flawed side with a visibly awkward team combination. They only needed that big win because, two days earlier, they lost against United with nearly 14 overs to spare. Ayub's form is still missing, and the Kingsmen sorely lack quality spin options. Hassan Khan fills in, but they have also needed Labuschagne to make up the difference at times.
But wins have generated their own momentum, snowballing into an unlikely playoff position against a side they recently beat in one of the games of the tournament. And sometimes, in T20 competitions, that is all it takes.