The Lahore Qalandars defeated the Multan Sultans by 42 runs on Sunday to win their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title.
Despite the fact that Lahore had set a lofty 181-run goal for Multan, they still had to be at their best with the bat and in the field.
And they’ve just done it. Mohammad Hafeez was used early once again by skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi, and he did not disappoint, dismissing the in-form Mohammad Rizwan for 14 runs in four overs.
Fakhar, who struggled with the bat, was a light wire on the field, as he ran out Shan Masood with a brilliant direct shot and also took a fantastic catch of Aamer Azmat to restrict Multan to a manageable total.
Asif Afridi was removed four runs later, and the dangerous Rilee Rossow was sent back for 15 by young pacer Zaman Khan as Multan batters were falling like a pack of cards.
Khushdil Shah and Tim David smashed some boundaries, but they had a huge task against a world-class bowling attack of Lahore. Khushdil was bowled by Haris Rauf, while David was sent back by Shaheen after Fakhar took a great diving catch.
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, his dismissal Harry Brook and David Wiese registered a 43-run stand in just 2.4 overs as they went rampant against the Multan bowlers.
Wiese remained not out for 28 runs off just eight balls with three sixes, while Brook scored 41 runs off 22 balls.
In terms of bowling for Multan, Asif was the stand out bowler with brilliant figures of 3-19 in four overs, while leggie Imran Tahir gave away just 22 runs in a wicket-less four-over spell. Dahani went to the cleaners in the late overs as he ended with figures of 1-34 in three overs. Rumman Raees conceded 35 runs in just two overs.
