Shaheen Afridi leads Lahore Qalandars to maiden PSL title

The home side Lahore Qalandars bagged maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title after beating Multan Sultans by 42 runs here at Gaddafi Stadium.

Qalandars have outclassed Multan Sultans’ batting unit, dismissing them all at 138 with the skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi as the top wicket-taking bowler with three wickets.

Mohammad Hafeez and Zaman Khan took two wickets each, whereas, Haris Rauf and David Wiese got one wicket each.

Khushdil Shah was the top scorer of Sultans who managed to score 32 runs off 23 balls, Tim David 27 off 17 while the opening batters Shan Masood and skipper Mohammad Rizwan scored only 19 and 14 runs respectively.

🌟 The Qalandars Dream comes true after 7 years! 🌟 #HBLPSL7 l #LevelHai l #MSvLQ I #HBLPSLFinal pic.twitter.com/TVdLsf688T

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 27, 2022

After the Qalandars’ victory, Shaheen Shah Afridi became the youngest captain to win the PSL title and also the top wicket-taking bowler of the season.

Lahore Qalandars innings

After opting to bat first, the Qalandars finished at 180-5 in the allotted 20 overs, thanks to the late on-slaught by Wiese and Harry Brook. The pair fired all the cylinders and bolstered the side to a commendable total in the final of the mega event.

Earlier, the home side was off to a poor start; losing three wickets for a mere 25 runs as Abdullah Shafique and Zeeshan Ashraf, alongside the in-form batter Fakhar Zaman perished after scoring cheaply, according to A Sports.

The veteran batter – Hafeez then anchored the innings with his gritty knock and put on a valuable 54-runs partnership with Kamran Ghulam. Just when the pair appeared comfortable at the crease Kamran made his way back to the pavilion after attempting to sail the ball over the bowler’s head.

Kamran managed to score 15 off 20 balls, while Hafeez kept going and went on to score a magnificent half-century. He, however, departed in the 18th over after attempting to accelerate the proceedings. He top-scored with 69 off just 46 balls; smashing nine boundaries and a six.

Following his departure, the cameos from Brook and Wiese turned the game on his head as the pair contributed a handy 43 runs on the last 16 balls. Wiese scored a quickfire 28 off just eight balls with the help of a boundary and three sixes, while Brook scored an unbeaten 41 off a mere 22 balls; smoking two boundaries and three sixes.

For the Sultans, Asif Afridi bagged three wickets, while Shahnawaz Dahani and David Willey struck out a batter each.