This content has been archived. It may no longer be relevant

Lahore Qalandars successfully defended their title as they won by a run in the finals of the Pakistan Super league (PSL) against Multan Sultans. The two sides crossed swords at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for the summit clash of the top-tier league on Saturday, March 18.

The same two teams that kickstarted proceedings in the league this edition, emerged as the two best teams to play the finals. Speaking about the match, the defending champions Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to bat first.

A decent top-order performance handed the title-defenders quite a head start in the contest. Mirza Baig, Fakhar Zaman, and Abdullah Shafique returned scores of 30, 39, and 65 runs respectively. However, it was skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi’s quickfire 15-ball 44* knock which propelled the side to 200 in the contest. Meanwhile, Usama Mir got a three-wicket haul whereas Khushdil Shah, Ihsanullah, and Anwar Ali got a wicket apiece.

In response to the competitive total, Multan got off to a swift start as Usman Khan and skipper Mohammad Rizwan swiftly hit the ground running. After raising a 41-run partnership, Usman was sent back to the pavilion by David Wiese. However, Rilee Rossouw immediately stepped up and hammered seven boundaries and two maximums to fight back.

Rossouw amassed 52 off 32 balls and stitched a 64-run partnership with the skipper. Lahore got the wickets at regular intervals and clawed their way back into the contest. Soon after the dismissal of Kieron Pollard, it seemed as though Lahore had extended their momentum and capitalised on that. As the match came down to the wire, Lahore held their nerve and snatched the game from the rival team to clinch their second title in a row.

Top Performers from the match:

Shaheen Shah Afridi

Lahore started off quite well and were close to posting a respectable total thanks to a decent start by the top-order. However, it was the skipper’s knock that changed the complexion of the game. His aggressive innings steered the side to attain the 200-run mark in the contest. Furthermore, he got four wickets in his four overs to seal it for his team.

Rilee Rossouw

Despite his knock ending in a losing cause, Rilee Rossouw displayed yet another impressive performance with the bat. The southpaw stitched an important partnership with Mohammad Rizwan and also got a quick fifty (52 off 32 balls).