LAHORE: Lahore Qalandars took five seasons to show guts finally to reach the semifinals of the COVID-19 marred fifth edition Pakistan Super League (PSL-5) here at the closed to public Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday evening.
Qalandars, that has been at the receiving end since the inception of the PSL in 2016, gained dream momentum in the fifth season but not without hiccups. Having lost three matches on trot, Qalandars surpassed every team in current season of PSL and surprised best of the best.
The only team left to defeat was Multan Sultans and on Sunday, Qalandars blew them away too with nine wickets. Multan which struggled in the initial moments of the match managed 186 for six and Lahore achieved 191 for one wicket in 18.5 overs. Qalandars fifth win of the tournament came with seven balls to spare. Chris Lynn, who was the architect of Qalandars’ win, smashed eighth century of the PSL-V, to navigate Lahore to their first ever semi-final of the league’s history. He remained not out at 113 that came off 55 balls in which he hammered 12 fours and eight sixes to finish the match in style.
The opening batters of Qalandar, Fakhar Zaman and Lynn together knitted a match-winning partnership of 100 runs, in which the former batsman contributed 57 runs. With nine boundaries also featuring two sixes, Fakhar took just 35 balls to bolster his team’s chances of semis spot. After his (Fakhar) departure for being the only victim of Usman Qadir, Lynn joined hands with skipper Sohail Akhtar to shave of the target.
Akhtar in his supporting innings of 19 runs faced 23 balls. He also helped in developing 91 runs for the second wickets with Lynn.
Khushdil Shah batted Multan Sultans to a decent total after they were struggling at five for 91. Two blows inflicted by Qalandars in the first and second over pushed Sultans to the wall but a brief 75 runs partnership for the third wicket between Shan Masood and Ravi Bopara gave spine to their score. Later Khushdil Shah and Rohail Nazir provided decency in their ranks to fight for.
Shaheen Shah uprooted the wicket of Moeen Ali on the final ball of the first over and Hafeez spun Zeeshan Ashraf on the third ball of the second over. At two down for four runs, Multan’s captain Masood and Bopara aggression and patience to bring their team out of recession. Shan Masood in his 29 balls 42 also smashed five fours while Bopara took 36 balls to get 33 with four fours. But the real innings was developed by Khushdil who smashed six sixes and five fours in his 70. He in his unbeaten knock faced 29 balls to also shared a valuable partnership with Rohail (24), who played 17 balls to also hit three boundaries including a six. In the termination of their play, Bilawal Bhatti was the not out batsman with Khushdil.
Shaheen Shah and David Wiese shared two wickets each while Hafeez had one.Earlier, Lahore Qalandars won the toss and decided to bowl first in a do or die league match against table-leaders Multan Sultans.
The Qalandars have made just one change after their blowout 10-wicket loss to Karachi Kings. Farzan Raja comes in for Muhammad Faizan, who didn't bat and bowled just one ball in defeat.
The Sultans have made several changes, with first place already locked up. Asad Shafiq, Bilawal Bhatti, Usman Qadir and Junaid Khan enter the line-up in place of Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Irfan and Imran Tahir.
Scores in brief: Sultan Sultans 186-6, 20 overs (Khushdil Shah 70*, Shan Masood 42, Ravi Bopara 33, Rohail Nazir 24; Shaheen Shah Afridi 2-23, David Wiese 2-24)
Lahore Qalandars 191-1, 18.5 overs (Chris Lynn 113 not out, Fakhar Zaman 57)
Result Lahore Qalandars win by nine wickets.
