PSL 8 Final 2023: Lahore Qalandars Secure Nail-Biting Victory Over Multan Sultans by 1 Run

 

Lahore Qalandars secured nail-biting victory over Multan Sultans by 1 Run and  became the first-ever team to lift the PSL title in back-to-back seasons.

Shaheen Afridi was handed the PSL trophy for the second consecutive year and his teammates joined him in the celebration with the trophy. It had been a fantastic season and it had been a pleasure to bring all the coverage of the 8th season of the PSL.

Last over Thriller:

In the last over Multan Sultans were looking well as they needed only 13 off the final over. Zaman Khan came for the last over, Abbas Afridi and Khushdil Shah were present at the crease.
19.1 ball Zaman Khan to Abbas Afridi, Short-pitched delivery head high, Abbas Afridi top-edged this behind the wicket for a couple. 

19.2 ball Zaman Khan to Abbas Afridi, Leg bye! Yorker around leg, Abbas Afridi got hit on his pads as he looked to whip it away. Took a leg bye. 10 needed from 4 then. 

19.3 ball Zaman Khan to Khushdil Shah, Slower one perfectly disguised outside off, Khushdil Shah looked to slog and got into his stroke early. A dot there. 

19.4 ball Zaman Khan to Khushdil Shah, Fuller one outside off, Khushdil Shah swung wildly and missed out. Sam Billings collected this and threw it to the bowler, and he had a shy at the non-striker's end and missed. No one backed up and the batters got two byes. 

19.5 ball Zaman Khan to Khushdil Shah, FOUR! Up and over for a boundary! Fuller outside off, Khushdil Shah lofted this over extra cover for a boundary. Box-office finish awaited us. The whole season had come down to this last delivery. 4 needed off 1. 

19.6 ball Zaman Khan to Khushdil Shah, OUT! RUN OUT! Yorker nailed to perfection, Khusdil squeezed this to deep mid-wicket and took a couple and ran for the third, but David Wiese was quick to release this at the non-striking end where Khushdil Shah was run out by miles.

Captain (Shaheen Afridi) Role in Victory:

In the PSL8 2023 final match, Shaheen played a sensational role and led the team from the front with both bat and ball.

In batting, Shaheen played a mind-blowing responsible inning of 44 runs in just 15 balls with a strike rate of 293.33 with the help of 5 sixes and 2 fours.

In bowling, Shaheen Afridi gave 51 runs in 4 overs and took 4 wickets with an economy of 12.75. In the first 2 overs, Shaheen gave 34 runs with no wicket. And Shaheen came back for his 3rd over in the 16th over of the match when the Multan Sultans needed 60 runs from the last 30 balls and they still had the power of Pollard and Tim David at the crease. In the 15th over at 15.3 balls, Shaheen Afridi took the wicket of Kieron Pollard and gave 11 runs for his 3rd over.

Shaheen Afridi came back for his 4th over or the 18th over of the match. On the very first ball at 17.1, Shaheen picked the wicket of Tim David, which was caught by David Wiese. On the 5th ball or the 17.5th ball of the match, Shaheen Afridi got Anwar Ali OUT! BOWLED! The skipper stepped up when his team needed him the most. It was the third wicket for Shaheen Afridi. On the last ball of his last over or the 17.6th ball of the match, Shaheen Afridi got OUT to Usama Mir, who was caught by Haris Rauf! Shaheen Afridi took a third wicket in the over! What a night it had been for the young skipper!

Shaheen Afridi was down for a quick chat. He said that he was happy about the second final and second title. He added that the boys did well and they deserved all the credit for the victory. He added that he had leaked runs early on and was thinking that he would come up again in the second spell and take wickets back then. He closed by saying that thanks to the almighty and their parents, they had won this.

Match Presentation:

Shaheen Afridi, the skipper of Lahore Qalandars, was the PLAYER OF THE MATCH.

Ihsanullah was the PLAYER OF THE TOURNAMENT! He became the first bowler in the history of the PSL to win this award. He said being the first-ever bowler to win the award meant a lot and thanked the almighty for the blessing. He added that the experience he had gained from this tournament was very crucial and this would add to his confidence going ahead in life. He ended up dedicating his trophy and the performances in this tournament to his father.

Mohammad Rizwan, the skipper of Multan Sultans, said that the final had its own pressure. He added that the way the ball was coming on the bat, they felt that they could get to the total. However, they could not finish well, which made the difference. He mentioned that the tournament was quite difficult with all quality teams and credited his team for the performance they had put on. He applauded his pace attack for the way they bowled and also praised Lahore Qalandars for the way they played as a unit. He said that the competition benefits Pakistan cricket as a whole.

Shaheen Afridi, the skipper of Lahore Qalandars, started by thanking the almighty and credited his support staff and scouts for bringing in some amazing talents to strengthen the team that had helped the team to defend the title. He added that the game was a topsy-turvy one with both teams gaining momentum in different moments of the game and thanked the almighty that they had won the game. He also added that the aggression came naturally as he was a fast bowler and he wanted to slog a few deliveries early on and it clicked for him and the team. He thanked the people of Pakistan and everyone who had supported them.