Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi, Match 30 Match Summary

Right then! That is all we have from this game and this concludes the league stage of PSL and now it's time for the playoffs. The Qualifier of the PSL will be played on Wednesday, 23rd February 2022, with Multan Sultans taking on Lahore Qalandars. That match begins at 8 pm IST (2.30 pm GMT). The build-up though will begin much sooner. Do join us then. Till then, goodbye and take care!

Wahab Riaz, the skipper of Peshawar Zalmi is the Player of the match. He says that there was pressure but he had faith in his skills and luckily he pulled it off. He applauds Afridi for his effort to take this game into the super over and says that Mohammad Haris has been a game-changer for them. He mentions that Shoaib Malik is an experienced player and with just six runs needed it was always going to be him to take them through.

Shaheen Afridi, the skipper of Lahore Qalandars says that he has been practicing batting so that if the team needs it he can step up. Mentions that, he tries to improve his batting by talking to other batters and also he could bat even when Pakistan needs him to. States the match was good and Peshawar Zalmi played well but they want to carry the momentum of the previous games forward, in their next game against Multan Sultans.

Stay tuned for the presentation!

Mohammad Haris is down for a chat. He says that everything depends on the attitude, he had not performed with the bat but wanted to contribute in some way. On that tag-team catch with Hazratullah Zazai, he says that he just wanted to be there if the catch was dropped, and he was there to take it when it happened. States that he is feeling proud that he got an opportunity to go and bat in the super over against a world-class bowler. States that not just the super over, Wahab Riaz bowled well in the entire game!

It is never easy for any team to play their best cricket after making wholesale changes to their team. However, after a decent performance with the bat, Zalmi bowlers were on the money right from the word go. The 40-year old youngster, Shoaib Malik provided the early breakthrough and then other bowlers bowled with good discipline to keep the scoring rate under check and also chipped in with wickets at regular intervals. The skipper, Wahab Riaz though was the pick of the bowlers and bowled with good fire and his overs were crucial in putting the pressure on Lahore’s batters. However, Mohammad Umar gave away 23 runs in the final over and that took the game to the super over. It was down to Wahab Riaz again to show his class and he delivered with a superb super over and gave away just five runs. Malik did the rest by notching up those runs in just two balls and Zalmi will take a lot of confidence from this hard-fought win going into the playoffs.

Lahore Qalandars would have been very confident of chasing a modest total down with the highest run-getter of the season at the top of the order for them. However, that confidence would have come crashing down in the very first ball of the innings as Malik send him packing straightaway! Ghulam and Salt though played some delightful shots in their brief partnership but once both of them departed, the chase just did not get the momentum it needed. Hafeez played the anchor role but failed to up the ante when required and as wickets kept tumbling at the other end, Lahore was always behind the required rate. However, the skipper Afridi had other plans with 24 runs needed off the last over he delivered some mighty blows in the end and took his team to the super over. But the batters again failed him as they scored just five runs in the super over and Afridi was left with too much to do with the ball and in the end, they lost this game by the barest of margin!

Well, first things first, what a cracker of a game this was! The last game of the league stage and we have been thoroughly entertained here. In the end, Zalmi have come out on top in the super over, riding on the experience of Riaz with the ball and then, Malik with the bat. However, one must feel for Shaheen Afridi here, he was the one and only reason the game went to the super over, and in the end, this game will be remembered for stellar performances by the skippers of both sides. Lahore Qalandars have finished on the second spot and will now play Qualifier while Peshawar Zalmi will play Eliminator 1 now as they have finished third.

FOUR! There it is! Shoaib Malik finishes things off! A length ball, on the pads. Shoaib Malik tucks it towards fine leg for a boundary! Peshawar Zalmi win the super over!

FOUR! WOW! What a start! Smart batting from Shoaib Malik! A length ball, outside off. Shoaib Malik guides it past point for a boundary. Peshawar Zalmi need 2 runs off 5 balls now!