Published: Mar 19, 2023, 08:48 AM (IST)
Edited: Mar 19, 2023, 08:54 AM (IST)
Lahore: A magnificent all-round show by Lahore Qalandars skipper Shaheen Afridi helped his side beat Multan Sultans by 1 run in a thriller to win the elite PSL trophy. Shaheen was at his best in the match as he whacked a blazing 44 off 15 balls to take Qalandars to a strong 200-6 before a lethal spell of 4-51 shattered Sultans’ hopes.
Qalandars were in deep trouble at 112-5 when Shaheen walked into bat, ahead of David Weise and Sikandar Raza, and needed something extraordinary to post a healthy total. Shaheen smashed five sixes and two fours to turn the game on his head.
Shaheen Afridi show in PSL final.
He smashed 44* runs from just 15 balls including 2 fours & 5 sixes when Lahore was 112/5 in 15th over.pic.twitter.com/n8kQzvniQV
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) March 18, 2023
In the second innings, Lahore was once again in trouble when Rilee Rossouw was going all guns blazing and Multan were in a comfortable position at 105-1 before Rashid Khan broke the dangerous partnership.
Afridi took over after the breakthrough and took the wickets of Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Anwar Ali and Usama Mir to trigger a collapse. A cameo by Abbas Afridi kept Sultans in the hunt but Zaman Khan held his nerves and defended 13 in the final over as Qalandars won the match by 1-run.
“Second final, second win, credit to the entire team. It was a team effort. It went to the last ball but we didn’t give up. We had the belief that we’d win the final. I couldn’t pick early wickets but I was able to pick 3 crucial wickets and put my team on top,” said Afridi at the post-match conference.
