Lahore Qalandars make PSL history by claiming their second title in a row

Lahore Qalandars have made PSL history by claiming their second title in a row!

In a nerve-wracking final of the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Lahore Qalandars became the first team to successfully defend their title after beating Multan Sultans by just one run at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Saturday evening.

Chasing a daunting target of 201 runs, the Sultans came very close to achieving the target, yet again, the luck was not on their side.

PSL 8 started with LQ beating MS by one run in the opening game and also ended on the same note, LQ beating MS by just a run in the final.

The hosts Lahore Qalandars won the toss and invited Multan Sultans to bowl first in the final.

When Qalandars started the innings, Tahir Baig, the hero of the previous match, showcases the same form as well and took an aggressive approach and played an inning of 30 runs off 18 balls.

To break the opening partnership on this occasion, captain Mohammad Rizwan brought in the most successful bowler in his event, Ehsanullah, who lived up to the captain’s confidence and took a wicket in the first over.

Fakhar Zaman looked a little tired but he formed a partnership of 57 runs with Abdullah Shafiq for the second wicket, he became the wicket of Osama Mir after scoring 38 runs.

After putting 111 on the scoreboard, Qalandars suffered three consecutive shocks and Osama Mir, after Sam Billings on two balls in a row, dismissed Ahsan Hafeez on the very next ball, while in the next over, Khushdil Shah took the wickets of Sikandar Raza.

In this important final match, Shaheen Shah Afridi came to bat up in the order and proved his decision right. His aggressive batting made the bowlers of the Sultans forget the line and length.

Afridi’s perfect partnership with Abdullah Shafiq helped Lahore Qalanders to reach a decent total of 200.

Shaheen Shah Afridi remained unbeaten on 44 runs in 15 balls, which included two fours and five maximums.

Abdullah Shafique knocked  65 off 40 that included 2 sixes and 8 fours.

Lahore Qalandars managed to score 85 runs in the last 5 overs of the first inning.

While chasing the target of 201, Multan Sultans also started the innings aggressively, with both the openers targeting Shaheen’s bowling in particular and scoring 36 runs in his first two overs.

David Wiese provided the breakthrough in the fourth over of the innings after dismissing opener Usman Khan, after scoring 18 runs in 12 balls.

Despite the early loss, the MS ensured that they kept up with the required run rate as Rilee Rossouw and Mohammad Rizwan stitched an impressive partnership of 64 runs in 42 balls.

However, Rossouw was cleaned up by Rashid Khan just when the batter threatened to take the game away from the Qalandars.

The South African batter scored 52 runs in 32 balls.

Rashid struck once again in his last over, taking Rizwan’s wicket after scoring 34 off 23.

The Afghan spinner gave his team another major breakthrough on the total score of 122 when he ended Rizwan’s 34-run innings thanks to David Wiese’s brilliant catch on the boundary.

Tim David and Kieron Pollard’s partnership lasted for 24 runs, but the run rate continued to increase for MS during this period and due to this pressure, first Pollard and then Tim David also returned to the pavilion.

Shaheen Afridi, after conceding 34 runs in his first two overs, came back in his second spell to clinch the wicket of the dangerous Kieron Pollard.

The Windies all-rounder scored 19 runs in 16 balls. 

Shaheen conceded 51 runs in his quota of four overs but also dismissed Anwar Ali and Usama Mir in two consecutive balls in his last over, making it almost impossible for Sultans to come back into the match.

In the last two overs, Sultans needed 35 runs to win but in this over bowled by Haris Rauf, Khushdil Shah and Abbas Afridi scored 22 runs and made the match sensational.

In the last over of the match, Sultans needed 13 runs for victory, but despite their best efforts, Sultans could only score 11 runs and thus Lahore Qalandars won the match by one run after a thrilling match.