We have come to the final stages of the PSL7 as Lahore Qalandars played Multan Sultans and whosoever wins will be direct to the final. Before the match there were mix views by the experts such that Multans Sultans has been playing the tournament where they lost to Qalandars only in the round matches and when a team is often seen to be playing so well, on a big day they tend to fail.
After losing the toss, Lahore Qalandars surprisingly opted to field first, which was a surprise as they could go out to put a decent total and defend as their strength is bowling but Shaheen had different ideas. For Rizwan, toss is meaningless as he believes that if the team puts 100% efforts and works hard, than it is up to Allah to give the results which is a positive thought and this believe has worked for him all the way in the PSL7.
Multan Sultans didn’t get the strat they wanted as they lost Shah Masood in the 2nd overs 1st bowl but Rizwan was there to carry is bat all the way through the innings although it was a slow start and the ball was not coming onto the bat and the shots he was trying were not getting timed to reach the boundaries.
It was the partnership between Rizwan and Rilee Rossouw who scored 65 off 42 balls as the pitch was quite tricky to bat on but rotating the strike and making sure that they keep 6 runs and over in each to get the total 163-2.
Some excellent bowling from the Lahore Qalandars spinners that kept the pressure on Sultans although their key player Tim David was ruled out due to Covid test positive and his replacement Aamer Amzat did play well and support Rizwan with 33 runs off 22 balls.
In reply Lahore Qalandars were on fire with Fakhar Zaman playing his shots all over the ground and at one point it was that they game is banked to Qalandars. He became aggressive by hitting 3 massive sixes to Imran Tahir 3rd over which also brought the asking rate but and Rizwan took the time-out.
in the break the team discussed the options as both teams went with the spin, but they hoped that the pace will click in the next few overs which will pull the game back and that is exactly what happened as they opted and trusted Shahnawaz Dahani, who is full of energy removed the man in form who only scored a century in the last match Harry Brook LBW and from the other end it was Willey who nailed it to trap Fakhar LBW.
Lahore Qalandars lost the 6 wickets for 26 where at one point they were winning the game and Dahani who took 3 wickets to put his team back on the track and some outstanding fielding was seen from Sultans after the time-out to make sure they go to the final in style by winning the game by 28 runs.
Man of the Match Shahnawaz Dahani was very excited that the trust put in by the management he delivered.
Multans Sultans are now in the final and Lahore Qalandars still have a hope but that route means they will need to now play the winner of today’s match between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi and player the winner and then beat them to meet Multan Sultans on 27th Feb 2022.
Written by: Aasif Sheikh – Chairman AS Academy
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