Lahore Qalandars won their maiden HBL Pakistan Super League title on Sunday, Feb. 27, after beating the defending champions Multan Sultans by 42 runs in the final of the seventh edition of the tournament at their home ground of Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
Qalandar’s performance at a quick glance
Qalandars handed Sultans a challenging 181-run target and then proved to be at their best both with the ball as well as in the field. Displaying a clinical performance, Lahore had the game all but wrapped up by the 11th over of the Multan’s innings when half of their batting line-up had been sent back to the dugout. At that moment, fans had started speculating by how many runs Lahore’s team would win. Eventually, it was by 42 runs as the Sultans were bowled out for 138 with two balls to spare.
Qalandars past performance
Lahore Qalandars has been a part of the HBL Pakistan Super League since the beginning though it took them seven years to finally lay their hands on the trophy, which came in the first season of franchise under the captaincy of Shaheen Shah Afridi.
“It was a difficult decision for me to take up the captaincy, and it was a challenge,” Shaheen said before lifting the dream-come-true trophy high into the night sky. “But I was backed by the senior players. Our team fought from the first day and till the last ball.”
Match Highlights:
- Lahore won the toss and elected to bat first, however, getting off with a quite poor performance the team was reduced to 25-3 in 4.2 overs.
- Later on, Muhammad Hafeez played a classic game and forged an important 54-run partnership with Kamran Ghulam.
- Hafeez took the attacking mode as he went after the opponent bowlers, and was finally removed for 69 runs by Dahani. He scored those runs off 46 balls with one six and nine fours.
- After Hafeez’s dismissal, Harry Brook and David Wiese recorded a 43-run stand in just 2.4 overs as they thrashed against the Multan bowlers.
- In terms of bowling, Shaheen got three wickets to finish as the tournament’s top bowler with 21.
- Youngster Zaman Khan chipped in with two wickets.
Mohammad Rizwan named Player of PSL 7
Mohammad Rizwan’s stunning and consistent performance throughout the league earned him Player of PSL 7 award, despite the loss. He remained a reliable top-order batsman for Multan Sultans finishing the tournament with 546 runs at a strike rate of 126.68.
Individual awards
- Umpire of PSL 2022 — Rashid Riaz (PKR3.5 million)
- Emerging Player of PSL 2022 — Zaman Khan (Lahore Qalandars) (PKR3.5 million)
- Spirit of Cricket Award — Multan Sultans (PKR3.5 million)
- All-rounder of PSL 2022 — Khushdil Shah (Multan Sultans) (PKR3.5 million)
- Fielder of PSL 2022 — Khushdil Shah (Multan Sultans) (PKR3.5 million)
- Wicketkeeper of PSL 2022 — Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans (PKR3.5 million)
- Bowler of PSL 2022 — Shadab Khan (Islamabad United) (PKR3.5 million)
- Batter of PSL 2022 — Fakhar Zaman (Lahore Qalandars) (PKR3.5 million)
- Player of PSL 2022 — Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans) (PKR3.5 million)