Pakistan Super League (PSL), Lahore Qalandars vs Multan Sultans Match Highlights: The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 couldn't have gotten off to a better start as Lahore Qalandars pulled off a one-run victory over Multan Sultans in a thrilling tournament opener on Tuesday (February 14).
Khushdil Shah tried his best to win the match for Multans with his back-to-back boundaries off the last two balls but only to see his side going down to Qalandars by one-run while chasing 176-run target. Young gun Zaman Khan managed to defend 14 runs in the ultimate over to have the last laugh for Qalandars.
Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood stitched together a robust 100-run partnership for the first wicket to put Sultans in a commanding position. Rizwan scored his 13th fifty of the PSL against the defending champions.
Qalandars got the first wicket in the 13th over when Hussain Talat removed Shan Masood who scored 35 runs off 31 balls hitting four boundaries. The openers Muhammad Rizwan and Masood gave their team a 100-run stand, however, their slow batting added pressure on the team. Rizwan made another elegant 75 runs off 50 balls hitting eight boundaries and a six before Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi clean-bowled him in the 16th over.
South African David Miller also failed to bring fireworks to the innings and was bowled by Haris Rauf on the first ball of the 19th over after scoring 25 runs off 20 balls. Kieron Pollard then took the charge and hit Haris Rauf with a six and a four to leave 15 runs for the last over.
However, Pollard got himself run out while trying to take a double on the second ball of the last over bowled by Zaman Khan. He scored 19 runs off 12 balls.
On the very next delivery, new batsman Usman Khan has adjudged LBW on a full toss. Sultans took a review but to no avail. Usama Mir also got himself run out while taking a double to give Khushdil Khan an outside chance to hit the winning boundaries.
Khushdil hit a boundary on the penultimate ball leaving a six to win the match on the last ball. However, he ended up hitting another boundary on the last ball.
Put to bat first, Qalandars managed to score 176 runs in 20 overs, thanks to Fakhar's 66 runs off 42 balls. The left-handed batter completed his 2000 runs in the PSL. Young opening batter Mirza Tahir Baig scored 36 runs off 26 balls before getting out to Akeal Hossain. The two batters built a strong foundation for the Qalandars as they managed to stitch a 61-run partnership for the first wicket. Meanwhile, wicket-keeper batter Shai Hope also gathered 19 runs in 17 balls. In order to reach the competitive total, all-rounder Sikandar Raza (19) and Hussain Talat (20) put on a 39-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Meanwhile, Usama and Ihsanullah claimed two wickets each, while Akeal secured a single scalp for Multan Sultans.
