Shaheen Afridi drove from the front with a phenomenal 44 on 15 balls not out and a four-wicket death bowling spell at the expense of 51 runs.
Multan Sultans required 13 runs in the last finish, bowled by Lahore Qalandars’ last over expert Zaman Khan. The condition had come down to four off the last ball, and Multan Sultans could get just two of a Khushdil Shah mishit before he was run out at the non-striker’s end.
The match had swung like a pendulum in the last five overs as Multan Sultans required 60 with seven wickets in Hands. Shaheen got Kieron Pollard out with a cutter after Pollard hit him for a four in the sixteenth over, which ended up costing 11 runs.
Haris Rauf permitted just eight in the following over. Shaheen got back to deliver quite possibly of the best over in death as he got three wickets and offered just six runs to additionally complicate the matter for Multan Sultans. Shaheen’s initial two overs, bowled in the Powerplay, had released 34 runs, however the left-arm pacer made the most of his involvement with death and took four wickets for 17 runs in his last two overs.
Khushdil Shah and Abbas Afridi, however, punched their direction back in the match in the following over by hitting Haris for 22. The over started with Khushdil dispatching the quick bowler for a six over his head and two balls later Abbas smoked him for a most extreme over deep midwicket and followed it up with consecutive fours.
Multan Sultans were set 201 to win their second HBL PSL and they were given an unshakable beginning by the top-order. Usman Khan (18 off 12) and Mohammad Rizwan (34 off 23) hustled to 41 before the previous was bowled by David Wiese at 3.3 overs mark.
Shaheen went under assault from the beginning of the run chase as he was hit for seven fours in his initial two overs – the first and third of the innings.
Rilee Rossouw delivered an engaging 50, hitting seven fours and two sixes in his 32-ball 52, yet what hung out in his innings was the means by which he guaranteed that the run rate never died down with Rizwan playing a supporting part. The pair added 64 runs for the 2nd wicket, before Rashid Khan took two wickets in two overs to unravel the run pursue.
Rossouw was bowled in the eleventh and Rizwan was caught by Wiese in the thirteenth that got two new players Pollard (19 off 16) and Tim David (20 off 16) on strike.
Lahore Qalandars made 200 for six after batting first thanks to shimmering 50 by Abdullah Shafique and a late rush from their captain Shaheen Afridi. Lahore Qalandars were off to a solid start with Mirza Tahir Baig releasing lovely shots around the dial. The right-handed opener dispatched Sheldon Cottrell, the star of the Qualifier, for a four and a six in the first over and afterward took three fours in the third over.
However, Mohammad Rizwan brought in Ihsanullah at the right moment, and he got Tahir out with a fast bouncer on the last ball of the fifth over.
Abdullah scored 65 runs from 40 balls, including eight fours and two sixes, and added 57 runs for the second wicket with Fakhar Zaman. The left-hander scored 39 off 34 with four fours and a six, before he tumbled to Usama Mir in the leg-spinner’s first over and the 12th of the innings.
Usama’s next over sent shockwaves in Lahore Qalandars camp as the leg-spinner represented Sam Billings (nine off eight) and Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti (0 off one) in back to back balls and their difficulties enhanced toward the beginning of the following over when Khushdil Shah bowled Sikandar Raza (one off two) as Lahore Qalandars lost three wickets for one run.
What followed next was a magnificent recovery from Shaheen and Abdullah as the pair added 66 runs off only 27 balls. Shaheen crushed five sixes and two fours and the first of those maximums came in the sixteenth over when he crushed Usama down the ground. Abdullah followed it up with a four as the two assembled 14 runs from it.
Yet, it was the following over, which ended up being the most costly of the innings, that ended up being innings defining. Shaheen smoked Ihsanullah for a two sixes and a four that additional 24 to the aggregate.
Abdullah then, at that point, punished four fours and a six out of six balls traversed across the finish of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth overs before he was gotten at deep third man. The second four raising his 50.
Shaheen took advantage of the over, hitting Anwar down the ground, and the second-to-last over brought 22 runs for Lahore Qalandars. It began with Abdullah hitting Anwar for a six over his head.
The last over likewise brought container load of runs as Shaheen smoked Abbas Afridi for a four and a six.
Scores in a word:
Lahore Qalandars 200-6, 20 overs (Abdullah Shafique 65, Shaheen Afridi 44 not out, Fakhar Zaman 39, Mirza Tahir Baig 30; Usama Mir 3-24)
Multan Sultans 199-8, 20 overs (Rilee Rossouw 52, Mohammad Rizwan 34, Khushdil Shah 25, Tim David 20; Shaheen Afridi 4-51, Rashid Khan 2-26)
Player of the match – Shaheen Afridi (Lahore Qalandars)
