Lahore Qalandars make PSL final in dramatic last-over finish

In a drama-filled encounter at Lahore, the home team Qalandars marched into the final of the Pakistan Super League, 2022 after a thrilling 6-run win against Islamabad United in the second Eliminator.

David Wiese did the star turn with both bat and ball in the clutch moments of the game. With the ball, he successfully defended 8 off the final over, picking up the last wicket even as the drizzle got heavier. Islamabad were ahead according to the DLS calculations at the start of the over, and as they went chasing for victory. Mohammad Wasim Jr denied singles off the first two balls before he was run out going for a second. Waqas Maqsood then holed out to deep midwicket, which earned the Qalandars a date in the final against the Multan Sultans.

Islamabad's chase went up and down, having slipped to 46-4 inside the powerplay. Shaheen Afridi accounted for Paul Stirling and Will Jacks, setting the tone initially. But with their run-rate still healthy, Islamabad managed to fight back once again as Azam Khan chipped in with a 28-ball 40. However, his run out swung the momentum once again decisively in the favour of the Qalandars.

Earlier, after opting to bat, the Lahore Qalandars were pegged back early by Liam Dawson's left-arm spin. Dawson struck in the first over of the innings with the big wicket of the in-form Fakhar Zaman, having him caught at short third man. The Qalandars tightened the screws in the initial overs, and it resulted in another wicket for Dawson with Phil Salt missing a cut to be bowled. At 7/2 after the first three overs, Lahore had a long way to pull back.

But they found the right men for such an uphill task. Abdullah Shafique and Kamran Ghulam began the fightback in earnest. It was kickstarted by a 15-run over against Mohammad Wasim Jr with each batter hitting a six. The partnership went from strength to strength in the middle overs with Shafique being the aggressor. The duo added 73 quick runs for the 3rd wicket before Shadab Khan had Ghulam holing out to long off.

While Shafique managed to get to his half-century, the Qalandars were pulled back once again after his departure. Just as they were in danger of falling to a below-par score, the Qalandars got a huge boost in the form of a cameo from David Wiese who smashed 27 from the final over bowled by Waqas Maqsood, which turned out to be pivotal eventually.

Brief Scores: Lahore Qalandars 168/7 (Abdullah Shafique 52) beat Islamabad United 162 all out (Azam Khan 40) by 6 runs