Much-needed blitz by Shaheen Abdullah Shafique and Shaheen Shah Afridi helped Lahore Qalandars set a tough target of 201 runs for Multan Sultans
Earlier, Lahore Qalandars won the toss and de-cided to bat first. Lahore Qalandars won the toss and opted to bat first. They set a target of 201 runs for their formidable adversaries Multan Sultans, at a loss of six wickets in 20 overs.
After a brisk start, where the Qalandars scored 34 runs in the first three overs, opener Tahir Baig was dismissed by Ihsanullah with a sharp short ball. The right-hander scored 30 runs in 18 balls.
Later, Fakhar Zaman and Abdullah Shafique added 57 runs in 38 balls for the second wicket.
After Khushdil Shah cleaned up Sikandar Raza with a ball, Qalandars seemed to be struggling. That is till the Qalandars skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi stepped out on the field.
The skipper took the attack to Sultans bowlers with some sensational shot-making. He remained unbeaten on 44 runs in 15 balls, which included two fours and five maximums.
Red-hot Qalandars outfoxed Peshawar Zalmi by four wickets during the Eliminator 2 of the ongoing PSL season eight at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday despite facing early blows.
Today’s game is a rematch of the 2022 final at the same iconic Gaddafi Stadium where two sides will lock horns with each other. The fixture was slated to play on Sunday but was rescheduled to Saturday over the rain forecast in the provincial capital.
Confident Sultans and composed Qalandars will lock horns for the fourth time in this edition. If we look back, Qalandars bagged three games, while Sultans outclassed them in the Qualifier.
Qalandars earlier beat Sultans last year to lift the PSL7 title, and Rizwan-led squad will be playing with full force to take the title from Qalandars. Sul-tans qualified for the final for the third time after they beat Lahore Qalandars.
PSL, one of the extravaganza events in Pakistan which bring fanfare, eagerness, and a lot of appre-hensions, is set to end after continued doses of en-tertainment as top players performed for over a month, setting new world records.—Agencies
