OTD| Lahore Qalandars won their first PSL title in 2022

On this day in 2022, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) got its new champions as Lahore Qalandars lifted the title for the first time. Qalandars etched their name in history under the leadership of young Shaheen Shah Afridi. The franchise from Lahore clashed against Multan Sultans in the final, trouncing them in a one-sided affair. 

First Innings

Shaheen Shah Afridi won the toss for Lahore Qalandars who were appearing in their second PSL final. Afridi decided to put runs on the board batting first and pose a challenging target for Multan Sultans to chase in the second innings. However, Qalandars got off to a tragic start as three of their key batters Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, and Zeeshan Ashraf were dismissed in the powerplay with only 25 runs on the board. 

Lahore needed a miraculous effort to get out of this crisis. The most experienced Mohammad Hafeez stepped up for the team and played an outstanding knock to steer the ship out of troubling waters. Hafeez’s 69-run stand ensured his team posted a tricky target for the opposition to chase. Quick middle-order cameos from Harry Brook and David Wiese propelled Lahore to the 180-run mark which gave the team an edge in the all-important final. 

Second Innings

The final flourish in the first innings from Lahore Qalandars shifted the momentum of the match in their favour. Riding on this momentum Lahore started the second innings on a positive note. Though Shan Masood and Mohammad Rizwan accumulated runs quickly in the first four overs Lahore made a resounding comeback by giving the opposition quick setbacks. 

Rizwan and Shaan were sent back to the pavilion in consecutive overs and the lethal bowling unit of Qalandars added to the misery with a couple of more breakthroughs in the form of Aamer Azmat and Asif Afridi.  Multan could not recover from the early jolts and kept losing wickets at regular intervals. Tim David and Khushdil Shah displayed some resilience but it was not enough to bring their team back into the game. Eventually, Lahore restricted Multan to 138 runs in the second innings pocketing the match by 42 runs to become the PSL champions for the first time. 

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