When Lahore Qalandars take on Multan Sultans in Match 17 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on their home turf today, they will be looking to halt the reigning champions’ unbeaten record.
The PSL 2022 pits the two sides against each other for the second time. When they first met in Karachi, the Sultans were triumphant.
Mohammad Rizwan and his teammates have defeated all of the other teams in the ongoing competition, including the Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars, Quetta Gladiators, Peshawar Zalmi, and Islamabad United, to become the first team to qualify for the play-offs.
In their most recent match, Qalandars set Multan Sultans a huge 207-run goal.
Khushdil Shah’s last-over heroics guided the Sultans to a nail-biting win against the Shaheen Shah Afridi-led Qalandars, as he hammered four boundaries—three fours and one six—in the final over.
To beat the Qalandars and reach the 207-run mark, the Sultans needed 16 from six overs. Khushdil then accused and penalised Haris Rauf, the pacer.
Skippers Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood had already established the foundation with their undefeated half-centuries.
Khushdil Shah’s heroics helped the Sultans win the last-over thriller.
After winning the toss and putting Lahore to bat, Rizwan played a captain’s knock, scoring 69 off 42 balls, while Khushdil, who was exceptional with the ball, claimed the opening wicket and also took a total of two key scalps—Abdullah Shafiq and Mohammad Hafeez.
The Qalandar bowlers struggled in the early overs, but they stepped up the tempo in the last five overs, grabbing back-to-back wickets.
The Multan Sultans, the defending champions, were playing their seventh match today and led the points table with 12 points.
Multan Sultans won for the sixth time in a row after thrashing Peshawar Zalmi.
Meanwhile, the Lahore Qalandars have won three of their five matches. On the table, they have six points.
At 7:30 p.m., the match will take place in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium under the lights.
Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (c) (wk), Sohaib Maqsood, Johnson Charles, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, Abbas Afridi, Imran Tahir, Blessing Muzarabani, Shahnawaz Dahani, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, Abbas Afridi, Imran Tahir, Blessing Muzarabani, Shahnawaz
Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Ghulam, Ben Dunk, David Wiese, Samit Patel, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan; Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Ghulam, Ben Dunk, David Wiese, Samit
