Fairytale ending for Lahore Qalandars as 7-year drought ends with PSL trophy

Web Desk

February 27, 2022

Lahore skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi celebrates after guiding his side to victory in PSL tournament. — Twitter/PSL

LAHORE: Lahore Qalandars Sunday put up a clinical performance to defeat Multan Sultans by 42 runs and bag their first Pakistan Super League (PSL) title.

Although Lahore had handed Multan a stiff 181-run target, they were still required to be at their best both with the ball as well as in the field.

And, they just did that. Once again skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi deployed Mohammad Hafeez early, and he didn't disappoint as he removed the in-form Mohammad Rizwan for 14 runs with the score of 36 runs in four overs.

Fakhar who failed with the bat, but was light wire in the field as he ran out Shan Masood with a brilliant direct-hit, and also took a great catch of Aamer Azmat to reduce Multan to 46-3.

Asif Afridi was removed four runs later, and the dangerous Rilee Rossow was sent back for 15 by young pacer Zaman Khan as Multan batters were falling like a pack of cards.

Khushdil Shah and Tim David smashed some boundaries, but they had a huge task against a world-class bowling attack of Lahore. Khushdil was bowled by Haris Rauf, while David was sent back by Shaheen after Fakhar took a great diving catch.

Lahore Qalandars team celebrates after winning the final of the Pakistan Super Leagues (PSL) seventh edition at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, on February 28, 2022. — Facebook — Lahore Qalandars team celebrates after winning the final of the Pakistan Super League's (PSL) seventh edition at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, on February 28, 2022. — Facebook

After that Willey, Tahir, Rumman were removed in a wink of an eye, as Tahir was the last man to go when Rauf took a great catch, and the entire Gaddafi Stadium erupted in joy.

Among the bowlers, Shaheen took three, Hafeez and Zaman two, while Wiese and Rauf one as Lahore won their maiden PSL crown.

Earlier, Lahore Qalandars had handed a 181-run target to Multan Sultans.

Lahore, after electing to bat first, got off to the worst possible start as they were reduced to 25-3 in 4.2 overs. The in-form Fakhar Zaman was removed for just three runs by Asif Afridi with Shahnawaz Dahani taking a great catch, while Abdullah Shafique was also removed by Asif.

After that, Mohammad Hafeez showed his experience and class as he steered the ship for Lahore by playing sensibly. With Kamran Ghulam, he forged an important 54-run partnership to steer the inning.

Multan Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan (left) and Lahore Qalandars skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi hug each other after Qalandars defeat Sultans to bag their first PSL title at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, on February 27, 2022. — Twitter — Multan Sultans' captain Mohammad Rizwan (left) and Lahore Qalandars' skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi hug each other after Qalandars defeat Sultans to bag their first PSL title at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, on February 27, 2022. — Twitter

Hafeez took the attacking mode as he went after the opponent bowlers, and was finally removed for 69 runs by Dahani. He scored those runs off 46 balls with one six and nine fours.

After, his dismissal Harry Brook and David Wiese registered a 43-run stand in just 2.4 overs as they went rampant against the Multan bowlers.

Wiese remained not out for 28 runs off just eight balls with three sixes, while Brook scored 41 runs off 22 balls.

In terms of bowling for Multan, Asif was the stand out bowler with brilliant figures of 3-19 in four overs, while leggie Imran Tahir gave away just 22 runs in a wicket-less four-over spell. Dahani went to the cleaners in the late overs as he ended with figures of 1-34 in three overs. Rumman Raees conceded 35 runs in just two overs.

Mohammad Rizwan named Player of PSL 7

Despite the loss, Mohammad Rizwan’s stunning and consistent performance earned him another rich reward when he was adjudged the Player of PSL 7.

Rizwan remained a reliable top-order batter for Multan Sultans when he finished the tournament with 546 runs at a strike rate of 126.68 and inspired his side to the final after winning nine out of 10 league matches.

Rizwan also collected the wicketkeeper of the PSL 2022 award. In 12 matches, he accounted for nine batters behind the stumps.

Earlier in the year, Rizwan was declared the Most Valuable Cricketer as well as T20I Cricketer as part of the PCB Awards 2021.

Lahore Qalandars Fakhar Zaman and Shadab Khan of Islamabad United were adjudged the best batter and bowler, respectively. Fakhar scored 588 runs (1x100, 7x50) at a strike rate of 153, while Shadab Khan ended the tournament with 19 wickets in nine matches with an economy rate of 6.47. The wrist-spinner had two four-fers and a five-fer.

Khushdil Shah of the Sultans was declared as the All-rounder of PSL 2022 for his 153 runs at a strike rate of 182 and 16 wickets with an economy rate of 6.9. He also added the Fielder of PSL 2022 award to his collection.

Qalandars’ Zaman Khan was named as the Emerging Cricketer of PSL 2022 after he grabbed 18 wickets.

Rashid Riaz was selected by the match officials as the Umpire of HBL PSL 2022, while Sultans were declared winners of the Spirit of Cricket award.