Qalandars edge Sultans in thriller as HBL PSL begins

MULTAN: The eighth edition of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) blasted into action with a close one-run victory for defending champions Lahore Qalandars over Multan Sultans here at the Multan Stadium on Monday evening.

Qalandars, looking to grab their second title on the trot, posted 175 runs for six and then restricted Multan to 174 runs for six wickets. Just an hour before the toss took place, which was won by Multan, a magnificent opening ceremony mesmerised the fans in a packed stadium.

The opening spectacle featured performances by renowned artists and musicians. The main highlight of the ceremony was the debut of PSL 8 anthem, sung by the talented Abdullah Siddiqui, Asim Azhar, Faris Shafi, and Shae Gill. Sahir Ali Bagga and singer Aima Baig entertained the audience with their musical performances.

After a little bit delayed start due to some technical reasons, Lahore Qalandars was asked to take the guard and the defending champions scraped their way to 175 for six. Sultans in their chase got a dream start through Shan Masood and Mohammad Rizwan. The two openers made 100 runs together before Shan became the victim of Hussain Talat in the 13th over when he was at 35 off 31 balls. He hit four fours.

Rizwan maintained his clobbering and completed his half century in 35 balls. With David Miller, he added 31 runs for the second wicket. Rizwan was outpaced by Shaheen Shah Afridi in the 16th over when Multan needed 45 runs in 26 balls. Rizwan scored 75 off 50 balls, hitting eight fours and a six.

The runs that were difficult to come by in the mid and later overs were clamped with the introduction of Shaheen and Haris Rauf to the attack. With Millar and Kieron Pollard on the crease, Multan had very fruitful 18th and 19th overs in which they got 19 runs.

The hosts needed 15 runs in the final over, but Zaman Khan conceded only 14. After giving a single off the first ball, Qalandars got two back to back wickets, pushing Multan to the wall. With two runs off a wide, the fourth ball had another wicket.

Quetta needed 10 runs to win off last two balls and Khushdil Shah hit two fours.

Zaman’s final over had the wickets of Kieron Pollard (20 in 12 balls), Usman Khan (0) and Usama Mir (0).

Multan Sultans were in the driving seat for most part of the chase until Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf bowled their heart out.

Qalandars’ dominance started when Rizwan got dismissed by Shaheen’s yorker and the asking rate kept creeping up. Afridi and Rauf joined forces just at the right time to choke the opposition and even the two of the best power hitters in the world David Miller and Kieron Pollard buckled under the pressure.

Earlier, Fakhar Zaman was the star in Lahore Qalandar’s innings with a 42-ball 66. Zaman and Mirza Baig got off to a flying start for Qalandars but after Baig fell to Akeal Hosein in the eighth over, the batters that followed totally failed to match the flow of their openers. Baig smashed 32 in 26 balls with five hits across the ropes.

Shai Hope (19) and Kamran Ghulam (just three) found it tough to maintain the run rate. And with the fall of Fakhar in the 16th over, Qalandars were clearly at the back foot. Hope’s 14-ball innings was laced with a six and a four.

Fakhar became only the second batter in the PSL history to complete 2,000 runs after Babar Azam. The left-handed batter hit three boundaries and five sixes.

Fakhar has now scored 2005 runs in 64 innings at an average of 31.82, including 17 fifties and a century.

Later down the order, Sikander Raza and Hussain Talat provided a bit of recovery as they got 45 off the final four overs. Raza provided the much-needed impetus to the innings with 14-ball 18 and Talat got a quickfire 20.

The spin duo of Usama Mir and Akeal Hosein didn't let Lahore off the hook. Ihsanullah and Usama chipped in with two wickets each while Akeal and Shahnawaz Dhani got one wickets apiece.