• Lahore Qalandars defeated Multan Sultans by 1 run to win PSL 2023.

  • Shaheen Afridi was named Player of the Match for his all-round performance.

PSL 2023 [Twitter reactions]: Lahore Qalandars beat Multan Sultans in a thriller to bag 2nd consecutive title
Lahore Qalandars wins PSL 2023 (Image Source: Twitter)

An all-round performance from Shaheen Afridi inspired Lahore Qalandars to a thrilling win in the high-scoring Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 final against Multan Sultans at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday. Qalandars sealed a one-run victory to become the PSL champions for the second successive time.

Shaheen’s 15-ball 44 unbeaten knock, along with Abdullah Shafique‘s 40-ball 65, helped the Qalandars finished with 200/6 in their allotted 20 overs. Mirza Baig (30) and Fakhar Zaman (39) also chipped in with valuable contributions.

In response, Rilee Rossouw‘s half-century and some handy contributions from the rest of the batters kept Sultans in the hunt, but the Qalandars held their nerve in, with captain Shaheen bagging a four-wicket haul. Spinner Rashid Khan also helped the team’s cause with two wickets for 26 runs.

Brief scores:

Lahore Qalandars 200/6 in 20 overs (Abdullah Shafique 65, Shaheen Afridi 44*; Usama Mir 3/24) beat Multan Sultans 199/8 in 20 overs (Rilee Rossouw 52, Mohammad Rizwan 34; Shaheen Afridi 4/51) by 1 run.

“To reach the final a second time and win again is a great feeling. Credit to the entire team and coaching staff for keeping us comfortable. I think it was tough early on when the momentum was swinging between them and us. But the idea was to fight till the very end, and it paid off. At that time, I felt like I should go to bat and was lucky to get a few in the slot. This win is for all those Pakistani people who seek joy in PSL. They deserved a game like this,” said Shaheen after the match.

Here is how Twitter reacted:

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