Pakistan Premier League: Lahore Qalanders Hunted Down Multan Sultans to Enter the Playoffs

The 4^th March 2023 witnessed the square off between Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans will square off at the top of the standings at the Gaddafi Stadium. Prior to this game, the Qalandars have been on a bit of a run lately, winning four straight games and remaining undefeated at home. But they had a formidable opponent today in Multan Sultans, who have won all but two of their games so far.

Lahore Qalanders won the toss and opted to bat first. The opening innings are finally over after over two hours. In the very first over, Lahore lost a wicket, but soon after, Shafique and Mirza Baig formed a partnership. The pair appeared to be in control, but Ihsanullah, who was in fine form, broke the tie during the final powerplay with a superb bouncer. Once more, Lahore formed a partnership when Billings joined Shafique. As Pollard entered the fray and removed both of the designated batters in consecutive overs, the former scored fifty runs, while the latter was eliminated two short. Raza had the opportunity to make another cameo, but Multan Sultans rallied and took a number of wickets in the final overs. A score of 180 in 20 overs is ultimately stevens even on this surface.

In response to this, Multan Sultans didn’t got much help from the batters. The Sultans got off to a good start thanks to Shan Masood and Rizwan, but that was the only time they seemed to be in contention. Usama Mir was moved up the order in front of batters like Rossouw and Miller after Masood was struck out in the seventh over. That decision plainly backfired because the visitors kept losing wickets at vital times in the game because they were unable to maintain the steadily rising necessary rate. Rashid Khan took three of the first five wickets and only gave up 15 runs in his four overs. The remaining bowlers made sure his efforts weren’t in vain, and Pollard’s late appearance only served to lessen the Sultans’ loss margin.

Lahore Qalanders won by 21 runs and became the first team of the PSL 2023 to enter the playoffs.

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