In Gaddafi Stadium, a thrilling championship match between the Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans took place as the reigning champions just managed to hold on to their title.
Multan needed 35 runs from the last two overs to defeat the opposition after requiring 201 to win. However the game began when Khushdil Shah and Abbas Afridi got the 19th wicket, bowled by Haris Rauf, for 22. Zaman Khan, a young footballer from the north of Pakistan, who is 21 years old, was left to complete the task.
Khushdil picked off Zaman for four runs, and in a fit of insanity, the young seamer gifted Multan two byes by failing to make a run out attempt from a distance of little more than two yards, leaving the Sultans needing a boundary from the last ball of the match.
Zaman finished the run out to spark raucous jubilation among the Qalandars’ players, staff, and supporters as Khushdil drew too wide long-on and the Multan duo tried to come back for a furious three that would have brought the game to a super over.
Surprisingly, the outcome was the same as the inaugural PSL game in 2023.
Before to it, Abdullah Shafique served as the foundation of Lahore’s impressive total. After Mirza Baig (30 from 18) had given his team a quick start, Shafique hit 65 from 40 deliveries to keep the Qalandars’ momentum going.
But with Sam Billings, Sikandar Raza, and Ahsan Hafeez all aiming for single-figure scores, the middle order of the winners did not provide the same kind of assistance.
Finally, it was Shaheen Shah Afridi’s crucial contribution that helped the Qalandars win the game.
Shaheen moved up to No. 6 and started playing with a lot of aggressiveness, scoring 44 runs off of 15 balls (five of which were sixes), helping his side reach 200.
Usama Mir, bowling for Multan, excelled among the chaos, delivering figures of 3 for 24 from three overs.
With Rilee Rossouw and Muhammad Rizwan at the crease, Multan responded and were doing well. Particularly Rossouw, who had reached 50 before the midway point, seemed to have excellent timing with the ball.
In fact, the PSL trophy seemed to be headed for Multan when the Sultans were 105 for 1 halfway through the 11th over.
But, Rashid Khan bowled the South African, the first of Afghanistan’s two wickets for 26, for 26, and when Rizwan followed to the same bowler two overs later, the power dynamic had changed.
Khushdil had the responsibility of leading Multan to victory with the tail after Kieron Pollard (19) and Tim David (20) were unable to provide momentum in the second part of the innings.
Multan had fallen from 146 for 3 to 166 for 7, making that job more difficult when Afridi took three wickets in the 18th over.
The drama, the noise, and Abbas Afridi arrive.
