Shaheen Afridi emerged as the most successful captain in Pakistan Super League history as his Lahore Qalandars side stormed to the title with a six-wicket win over Quetta Gladiators in the final on Sunday.
Lahore chased down the 202-run target with one ball to spare as Afridi lifted the PSL trophy for the third time.
Sri Lankan wicketkeeper batter Kusal Perera (62) and local batting star Mohammad Naeem (46) powered Lahore’s chase but it was Afridi who had restricted Quetta earlier with a stunning spell, finishing with 3-24 in a high-scoring contest.
The match, however, was dominated by the bat as the future of Pakistan’s batting was on display during the final, with Hasan Nawaz of Quetta and Naeem landing some heavy hits in a tense contest.
Up-and-coming batting star Nawaz saved his best for the most important match of the tournament at the Qaddafi Stadium as he cracked 76 from 43 balls. His was the best effort in an all-round batting display by Quetta as five of their top seven batters made decent contributions.
Sri Lankan duo Avishka Fernando (29) and Dinesh Chandimal (22) played impactful innings but it was all-rounder Faheem Ashraf who once again delivered with the bat, smashing 28 from just eight balls with three sixes to edge the total to 201-9.
Nawaz thus continued his stellar form in T20 cricket, averaging 57 in the PSL with a ton and three fifties, to go with his T20 century in New Zealand earlier in the year.
A target of over 200 in a tournament final was a psychological boost for Quetta. They could have had a lot more as four of Lahore’s five bowlers went for more than 10 runs an over. The only reason Quetta got restricted to around 200 was another superb spell by pace ace Afridi.
The left-arm quick and Qalandars captain returned superb figures of 3-24 from his four overs, including important scalps of his counterpart Saud Shakeel and top-scorer Nawaz.
Afridi also finished as the highest wicket taker in the tournament with 19 scalps at an economy of under eight.
In reply, Lahore too were powered at the top by their own local batting powerhouse Naeem, who made a brisk 46 from 27 balls with a staggering six sixes.
Abdullah Shafique maintained the tempo for Lahore with 41 from 28 but it was Sri Lankan batter Perera who anchored the chase with 62 not out from 31 balls with five fours and four sixes.
The finishing touch was provided by Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza, who had flown in for the final at the last possible moment. Raza hit six and a four off the third last and penultimate ball of the tournament, bowled by Faheem, to secure victory with six wickets and one ball in hand.
It was a noteworthy effort from Raza who had been busy with his national team during a one-off Test in England. After his team succumbed to an innings defeat in Nottingham on Saturday, Raza flew straight to Pakistan and landed in Lahore just in time to feature in the final.
Lahore have now won three of the last four PSL titles.
