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The Final: Lahore Qalandars Overcome Jitters To Win Their Second Straight PSL Championship
- Shaheen shines with bat and ball in a tense encounter.
- As the first team to defend the championship, Lahore Qalandars.
- The leading scorer for the season is Mohammad Rizwan.
Lahore Qalandars defeated Multan Sultans by one run in a nail-biting Pakistan Super League final, becoming the first side to defend their title successfully and taking the trophy home on Saturday at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
LAHORE: The final was a heart-stopping, breathless experience.
By the time it was all over, Lahore Qalandars were in a state of ecstasy and fireworks.
The Multan Sultans were shocked; they were just one run short but so close.
The thrilling championship match at the Gaddafi Stadium came down to the final ball, with Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi whipping off the bails at the non-end strikers to run out Khushdil Shah.
On Saturday night, his team became the first repeat champions of the Pakistan Super League by defeating the Sultans in the final for the second consecutive year.
Final of PSL. Teammates’ Response Goes Viral
The Sultans came incredibly close to meeting their challenging 201-run target but ultimately fell short by one run.
The Qalandars are the first PSL champions to defend their crown successfully.
After dismissing Usman Khan, the opener, in the fourth over of the innings, David Wiese made the crucial breakthrough during the run chase.
In 12 balls, the right-hander scored 18 runs.
Rossouw and Rizwan’s partnership helps Multan maintain its run rate after early defeat.
Despite the early defeat, Rilee Rossouw and Muhammad Rizwan assembled a remarkable partnership of 64 runs in 42 balls to ensure the Multans maintained the requisite run rate.
Rashid Khan, however, struck out Rossouw just as the batter was about to threaten to win the game for the Qalandars.
In 32 balls, the South African hit 52 runs.
On his final over, Rashid struck again as Rizwan, 34 off 23, died attempting to clear the long-on boundary.
David Wiese had to perform some outstanding fielding to complete the catch.
He first collected the ball, maintained his balance, and then flicked it back into the air as he crossed the rope.
Shaheen returned in his second stint to secure the wicket of the dangerous Kieron Pollard after giving up 34 runs in his first two overs. In 16 balls, the West Indies all-rounder scored 19 runs.
Shaheen also took three wickets in his final over, giving his team an excellent chance to win the game.
Haris Rauf gave up 22 runs in the penultimate over to ensure a dramatic conclusion to the game.
Nonetheless, Zaman Khan maintained his composure to lead his team to a decisive victory in the game.
The Qalandars had earlier amassed 200-6 in their allocated 20 overs.
Lahore defeated Multan Sultans by one run, nerve-wracking to become the first repeat winners.
The Qalandars got off to a quick start, scoring 34 runs in the opening three overs, but opener Tahir Baig was eventually out by Ihsanullah with a precise short ball.
In 18 balls, the right-hander scored 30 runs.
Once Lahore reached 82-1 at the midway point, the wicket and some solid bowling enabled the Sultans to stop the flow of runs.
When Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique sought to speed up their scoring.
Multan destroyed their plans with four quick wickets, scoring 57 runs in 38 balls for the second wicket.
Usama Mir, a leg-spinner, took three wickets in his first two overs, including Zaman (39), Sam Billings (9), and Ahsan Hafeez (0).
Khushdil Shah dismissed Sikandar Raza (1) in the meantime with a ball that slid past the infield and slammed into the batter’s stumps.
Lahore was having trouble, but captain Shaheen entered the field and attacked the Multan bowlers with spectacular shot-making.
He was still unbeaten with 44 runs in 15 balls, which included two fours and five maximums.
Khushdil Shah dismissed Sikandar Raza (1) in the meantime with a ball that slid past the infield and slammed into the batter’s stumps.
Qalandars’ captain Shaheen’s aggressive batting turns the tables against Multan.
As the Qalandars were having trouble, captain Shaheen entered the field and attacked the Multan bowlers with spectacular shot-making.
He was still unbeaten with 44 runs in 15 balls, which included two fours and five maximums.
Shafique also picked up the pace after his innings and finished with 65 runs in 40 balls. He struck eight fours and two sixes.
Usama Mir had 3-24 in three overs and was the Sultans’ preferred bowler.
The Sultans’ victory over the Qalandars in the qualifier secured their place in the championship game. Lahore, however, defeated Peshawar Zalmi to get to the final match.
2023 PSL Final: Man of the Match
Shaheen Afridi, the winning captain, was unquestionably the night’s biggest hero. His 15-ball 44 helped the Qalandars put up a large total on the scoreboard.
He let runs to score with the ball in his hand during the opening three Overs, but he eventually removed the powerful Kieron Pollard and Tim David to finish with figures of 4-0-51-4.
He appropriately named the PSL 2023 “Player of the Final” for his performance.
“It feels fantastic to go to the last second and win again.
We owe a debt of gratitude to the entire team and coaching staff for keeping us at ease.
While the momentum was initially shifting between them and us, I believe it wasn’t easy. Yet persevering to the bitter end was the plan, and it worked.
I thought I should go to bat at that point, and I was fortunate to get a few in the slot. This victory is for all of the Pakistani fans of the PSL.
They deserved a match like this, Afridi said after accepting the honor.
NO RESERVATIONS
Fireworks were set off before and after Qalandars won the toss, and Shaheen made no second thoughts about choosing to bat.
Nevertheless, an issue with the floodlights caused a 13-minute delay at the start of the game.
