Lahore Qalandars lift PSL title: After skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi’s all-around masterful performance against Multan Sultans, young bowler Zaman Khan kept his composure to protect 13 runs in the final over, propelling Lahore Qalandars to their second consecutive PSL championship.
Despite Rossouw’s half-century, the visitors were able to amass 199/8 in their allotted 20 overs, leaving the Sultans just one run shy of victory as they were attempting to chase down 201.
Usman Khan and Mohammad Rizwan, the Sultans’ opening duo, gave the run chase a flying start by taking on the Qalandars’ bowlers right away and scoring 41 runs in just four overs.
Then, David Wiese rattled Usman’s stumps to give the Qalandars a much needed victory. He used 12 shots to score 18 goals.
Before Rashid Khan forced a recovery by the Qalandars, Sultans captain Rizwan partnered with Rossouw and established a key second-wicket partnership, adding 64 runs quickly.
The seasoned leg-spinner forced Sultans to slide to 122/3 in the 13th over by removing both established hitters Rizwan and Rossouw in his subsequent overs.
For the Sultans, Rossouw top-scored with 52 from 32 deliveries, including seven boundaries and two sixes. Yet Rizwan got 23 points off of 34 balls while hitting five boundaries.
With a crucial 24-run partnership for the fourth wicket, middle-order batsmen Kieron Pollard and Tim David kept the Sultans in the game, but Shaheen caused mayhem by taking four wickets in his final two overs.
The left-arm pacers reduced Sultans to 177/6 in 18 overs by dismissing Pollard (19) in his third over and then David (20), Anwar Ali (1), and Usama Mir (0) in his final over.
Abbas Afridi provided a glimmer of hope for the Sultans when he baton-charged Haris Rauf in the 19th over, scoring 22 runs just when everything appeared to be going Qalandars’ way.
As Zaman came to defend 13 runs in the final over with Khushdil poised on his crease and Abbas striking spectacularly, the match was still in doubt. Nevertheless, the young right-arm pacer maintained his composure under pressure and once again successfully defended the total for the Qalandars.
His effective death bowling enabled the Qalandars to defeat the Sultans by a mere run and became the first team to win consecutive championships.
With 4/51, Shaheen was the Qalandars’ top bowler, and Rashid came in second with 2/26. On the other side, Wiese made one victim.
Choosing to bat first in the final, the defending champions managed to put on a large total to defend at the back of a magnificent fifty by Abdullah and Shaheen’s fast 44.
For the Qalandars, the openers Fakhar Zaman and Tahir Baig got off to a cautious start by raising 38 before the latter was bowled by Ihsanullah on the final delivery of the fifth over, giving the Sultans their maiden victory.
In just 18 deliveries, Baig scored a rapid 30 points while hitting five boundaries and a six.
After that, Fakhar and Abdullah teamed up and contributed 57 runs for the second wicket. However, the pair was a little sluggish in their approach and needed to yield 38 deliveries before Fakhar was sent out by Usama Mir.
With 39 off 34 pitches, the left-handed opener continued to lead the Qalandars in runs scored.
Next, Sam Billings (9) and Abdullah had a brief partnership, but they could only add 16 runs before the Sultans’ spinners Usama and Khushdil Shah altered the nature of the match.
The spinners for the Sultans struck three times in four balls, taking out Billings (9), Ahsan Hafeez (0), and Sikandar Raza (1). This helped the Sultans’ team stop the Qalandars at 115/5 after 15 overs.
Following the slump, Qalandars’ skipper Shaheen stood up for his team by once again pushing himself in the batting order and counter-attacked with aggressive hitting.
Shaheen and Abdullah shared a crucial 66-run partnership that changed the course of the game before Abdullah ultimately fell in the 19th over after playing a responsible innings.
Abdullah led the Qalandars in scoring with 65 runs off 40 deliveries, smashing 10 boundaries including two sixes.
Shaheen, on the other hand, continued to dominate the inept Sultans’ bowlers and helped his team reach the 200-run milestone by hitting a six off the final delivery of the innings.
He remained unbeaten with his 15-ball 44 which featured two boundaries and five sixes.
Usama led the Sultans’ bowling assault with 3/24, while Ihsanullah, Khushdil, and Anwar Ali each managed to take a wicket.
