 |
Lahore Qalandars beat Multan Sultans by 1-1
Lahore Qalandars successfully defended their Pakistan Super League (PSL) title after defeating Multan Sultans by one in the final of the tournament at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Chasing a staggering target of 201 runs, Sultans came very close to achieving this target but the game played an emotional role for all the fans.
David Wiese won the fourth game after dismissing opener Usman Khan during the run.
Despite the initial loss, Sultans Rile Rossouw and Mohammad Rizwan put together an impressive partnership of 64 off 42 balls to find the required number of runs.
However, Rossow was cleared by Rashid Khan, saying the game would be taken away from Qalandar. South Africa scored 52 off 32 balls.
In his last over, Rashid was 23 when the 34-year-old Rizwan crashed out trying to clear long-off. It took a great ball from David Wiese, who caught the ball, kept his balance and turned the ball back into the air before going out of bounds to complete the catch.
Sahin, who scored 34 in his first two overs, came back to take the wicket of the magical Kieron Pollard in the second innings. The Windies striker scored 19 off 16 balls.
Shaheen also took three wickets in the last over to put his team in a strong position to win the match.
However, Haris Rauf conceded 22 wickets in the final to ensure a thrilling finish to the game.
But Zaman Khan has the nerve to pull his team out in the final game.
Earlier, Qalandar had won 200-6 in the allotted 20 overs.
After the Qalandars got off to a fast start, scoring 34 in the first three overs, opener Tahir Baig was dismissed by Ihsanullah with a sharp short ball.
The wicket coupled with good bowling helped the Sultans stem the flow as Lahore reached 82-1 at the halfway point.
Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafiq added 57 for 38 for the second wicket, but when they decided to increase the score, the Sultans laid plans for the successful side with four quick wickets.
Off-spinner Usama Mir took three wickets in his first two overs with Zaman (39), Sam Billings (9) and Ahsan Hafeez (0).
Meanwhile, Khushdil Shah cleaned up Sikandar Raza (1) with a ball that slipped and hit the batsman.
As Lahore struggled, captain Shaheen took to the field and attacked the Multan bowlers with some impressive shots. He was unbeaten on 44 runs on 15 wickets, including two wickets and five maximums.
Meanwhile, Khushdil Shah cleaned up Sikandar Raza (1) with a ball that slipped and hit the batsman.
As the rest struggled, captain Shaheen took to the field and attacked the Multan bowlers with some impressive shots. He was unbeaten on 44 runs on 15 wickets, including two wickets and five maximums.
Shafiq picked up the pace towards the end of the innings and scored 65 off 40 balls.
The Sultans defeated the Warriors in the qualifiers to book their place in the final.
Playing XI
Multan Sultans: Usman Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk/c), Riley Rossouw, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Sheldon Cottrell and Ihsanullah.
Lahore spinners: Mirza Tahir Baig, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafiq, Sam Billings (weekly), Asan Bati, Sikandar Reza, David Vise, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Raukh, Zaman Khan.
0 Comments