After a 95-run victory over Islamabad United, the Lahore Qalandars won the Pakistan Super League final for the third time in four years.
In response to Lahore’s dominating 202-8 on Friday, Islamabad was beaten for 107 in 15.1 overs thanks to captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, who took two wickets for three runs in his three overs.
Without Alex Hales, the star opener, who had to miss the crucial eliminator to attend a friend’s wedding in Spain, Islamabad struggled to get started in the chase.
When Afridi uprooted Mohammad Shahzad’s middle stump for a duck in his third ball, Afridi took a wicket.
Salman Mirza, a pace bowler from Lahore (3-16), took all of his wickets during the powerplay, giving Islamabad the final blow to lose 33-4. Sahibzada Farhan, the league’s top run-getter, was bowled by Mirza for 3.
Salman Ali Agha, the Twenty20 captain of Pakistan, top-scored with 33 runs in 26 balls, while Shadab Khan, the captain of Islamabad, recorded 26 runs in 14 balls. Nobody else ever doubled in numbers.
Rishad Hossain, a leg-spinner from Bangladesh, took 3-34, and Afridi took the final two wickets to win.
Mohammad Naeem’s faith in Lahore’s rookie opener Mohammad Naeem paid off in the crucial match with a 50-run run of 49 balls and two sixes before the match.
Kusal Perera, a left-hander from Sri Lanka, added 61 off 35, while Bhanuka Rajapaksa, a countryman, added a respectable 22. Two late sixes by Asif Ali allowed Lahore to surpass 200.
Source: Aljazeera
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