ISLAMABAD: Lahore Qalandars won their first ever Pakistan Super League (PSL) title by defeating defending champions Multan Sultans by 42 runs at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
Lahore are the only team that has beaten Multan Sultans in the tournament. And they did it twice.
The Shaheen Afridi-led side managed to get to a respectable 180-run total against Multan after batting first in the game.
The formidable Multan Sultans put Lahore in trouble right from the word go, with openers Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique and Kamran Ghulam all headed to the pavilion before the powerplay ended.
Asif Afridi was instrumental in dismissing the Qalandars’ openers, finishing with impressive figures of 3/19 from his four overs. David Willey and Shahnawaz Dahani pitched in with one wicket each.
Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez, however, kept the scoreboard ticking by hitting boundaries despite the frequent loss of wickets. Hafeez scored 69 runs off 46 balls, hitting 9 fours and a six.
Harry Brook remained unbeaten on 41 from 22 balls, hitting 2 fours and 3 sixes in his innings while David Weise once again managed to hit big boundaries, scoring an exhilarating 28 off 8 balls. He hit 3 sixes and 1 four in his innings.
Chasing the target, Multan were all out for 138 runs in 19.3 overs. Khushdil Shah (32), Time David (27) and Shan Masood (19) were the top scorers for their side.
Skipper Shaheen Afridi led from the front, inspiring his teammates with a three-wicket haul to ensure Multan were nowhere near to chasing the target. Hafeez took two important wickets to help keep Multan batters at bay.
Right-arm fast bowler Zaman Khan also took two wickets, while Haris Rauf and David Weise took one each.
