Qalandars win PSL 8th, defeating Multan Sultans in a thrilling final.
Lahore Qalandars became the first team to successfully defend the PSL title. Shaheen Afridi led the team with three wickets in the final over to secure the victory.
Qalandars retained their Pakistan Super League (PSL) championship title by defeating Multan Sultans in a thrilling final match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Saturday. The Qalandars became the first team in the history of the tournament to successfully defend their title.
Multan Sultans put up a valiant effort in chasing down Lahore’s daunting target of 201 runs but fell just one run short. Lahore’s bowlers, led by the impressive Shaheen Afridi, managed to hold their nerve and defend their total.
Rossouw and Rizwan’s partnership:
Multan Sultans started their innings strong with opener Usman Khan scoring 18 runs in 12 balls. However, David Wiese provided Lahore with an early breakthrough by dismissing him in the fourth over. Despite the early loss, Multan kept up with the required run-rate, thanks to an impressive partnership between Rilee Rossouw and Mohammad Rizwan. The duo added 64 runs in 42 balls, but Rossouw was dismissed by Rashid Khan for 52 runs in 32 balls just when he was looking to take the game away from Lahore. Rashid struck again in his last over, getting rid of Rizwan for 34 runs off 23 balls. It took a brilliant bit of fielding from David Wiese to complete the catch and put Lahore in a strong position.
Shaheen Afridi’s impressive bowling:
Afridi, who conceded 34 runs in his first two overs, made a strong comeback in his second spell to clinch the wicket of Kieron Pollard, who scored 19 runs in 16 balls. Shaheen then bagged three wickets in his final over to put Lahore in a dominant position. However, Haris Rauf conceded 22 runs in the penultimate over, making for a thrilling finish.
Lahore’s batting performance:
Earlier in the match, Lahore had scored 200-6 in their allotted 20 overs. Tahir Baig got Lahore off to a brisk start, scoring 30 runs in 18 balls, but Multan managed to stem the flow of runs after his dismissal. Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique added 57 runs in 38 balls for the second wicket, but Multan’s Usama Mir claimed three quick wickets to put Lahore in trouble. Shaheen Afridi then took the attack to Multan’s bowlers with some sensational shot-making, scoring an unbeaten 44 runs in just 15 balls. Shafique also accelerated towards the end of the innings and ended up with 65 runs in 40 balls.
Lineups:
Multan Sultans: Usman Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk/c), Rilee Rossouw, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Sheldon Cottrell, and Ihsanullah.
Lahore Qalandars: Mirza Tahir Baig, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Sam Billings (wk), Ahsan Bhatti, Sikandar Raza, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, and Zaman Khan.
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