Lahore Qalandars made it to their third Pakistan Super League (PSL) final after outclassing Babar Azam's Peshawar Zalmi by four wickets in Eliminator 2 of the season eight at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday (March 17). Shaheen Afridi's Lahore will now lock horns with Mohammad Rizwan's Multan Sultans in the ultimate clash for the title glory on Saturday (March 18) at the same venue.
Riding on Mohammad Haris' brilliant 85 off 54 Peshawar Zalmi posted 171/5 on the board in their stipulated 20 overs. In reply, Lahore Qalandars achieved the target with seven balls to spare, thanks to Mirza Baig's splendid 54 off 42.
The defending champions Lahore Qalandars' camp erupted in euphoria after making back-to-back finals but on the contrary Peshawar Zalmi's dug out seemed shattered who drowned in despair as they lost the grip of the match from the brink of victory.
Meanwhile a video is doing rounds on Internet where Afridi can be seen consoling his national captain Babar post the match.
Watch the video here…
Babar did try to put up a show in the Eliminator 2 but was perished for 42 off 36. However, he had a memorable season with the bat as he amassed 522 runs in 11 matches at an average of 52.20.
"Happy with the form but disappointed that it didn't help the team win. I will look back and see what I can do better," Babar said post the match.
Meanwhile, Lahore Qalandars captain Afridi snared 15 wickets in a total of 11 matches in PSL 2023 so far.
"I am trying my best to give to the team always in batting, bowling and fielding. I want to come out to bat when the situation demands," Shaheen said.
Talking about the match, while chasing Zalmi's target, Lahore lost Fakhar Zaman (6) early after he has castled while trying to play a big heave. Azmatullah Omarzai was the successful bowler. Meanwhile, Ahsan Hafeez, who was playing his first PSL match, handed a simple catch to wicketkeeper Haseebullah after he top-edged a ball from Wahab Riaz. The left-hander scored 15 runs in 10 balls.
After a big mixup between Abdullah Shafique and Mirza Tahir Baig, the former was sent packing. The right-hander scored run-a-ball 10.
Shafique's departure brought Sam Billings to the crease, who along with Tahir got Lahore's run-chase back on track with a crucial 50-run partnership in only 28 balls.
However, Tahir was dismissed after reaching his maiden T20 fifty with Aamer Jamal bagging the crucial scalp. He scored 54 runs in 42 balls with the help of seven fours and two sixes. Billings was cleaned up by a superb yorker by Salman Irshad. He scored 28 valuable runs in 21 balls. Meanwhile, Sikandar Raza scored 22 runs in 13 balls. Shaheen Afridi smacked a six and four in the 19th over to get his team over the line.
Earlier, the visitors were off to an unwanted start as Zalmi lost their young batting sensation Saim Ayub (9) cheaply in the second over at a combined total of just 15. Following an early setback, Zalmi’s skipper Babar Azam and Haris settled things down for their side as the pair added 89 runs amid the second-wicket partnership. The duo had put Zalmi in command at 102/1 in 11 overs before Rashid Khan handed Qalandars a much-needed breakthrough as he trapped Babar in his legs. Babar scored 42 off 36 deliveries, smashing seven boundaries.
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