Tag: Pakistan Super League

LAHORE: The chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) management committee Najam Sethi on Thursday, announced that the final of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight has been rescheduled due to the rain forecast on March 19.

Keeping the rain forecast into account, PCB and franchises agreed to reschedule the final from March 19 to March 18, tweeted Sethi.

“Rain looms over the HBL PSL 8 Final. [The PCB] and Franchises are anxious that the Final should not be disrupted,” Sethi wrote on Twitter.

“Therefore, we have decided to reschedule the HBL PSL Final from 19 Mar ’23 to Saturday, 18 Mar ’23,” he announced.

Rain looms over the HBL PSL 8 Final. @TheRealPCB and Franchises are anxious that the Final should not be disrupted. Therefore, we have decided to reschedule the HBL PSL Final from 19 Mar '23 to Saturday, 18 Mar '23. Tickets already purchased for the Final will remain valid.

— Najam Sethi (@najamsethi) March 16, 2023

The PCB management committee chairman also shared that the tickets already bought for the final will also remain valid despite the change in schedule.

It is pertinent to mention that Lahore Qalandars, Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi are in the race to play the final against already-qualified Multan Sultans.

Zalmi and United face each other in the first eliminator today, the winner of which will go on to face Qalandars, who faltered against Sultans in the qualifier on Wednesday.

Notably, the first eliminator between United and Zalmi also faced slight interruption as light rain delayed the toss of the all-important clash.

LAHORE: Islamabad United have won the toss and elected to field first against Peshawar Zalmi in the first eliminator of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight on Thursday.

PLAYING XIs

Islamabad United: Alex Hales, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Colin Munro, Sohaib Maqsood, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mubasir Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Haseebullah Khan, Wahab Riaz, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Salman Irshad.

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches 20, Islamabad United 10, Peshawar Zalmi 10

LAHORE: Veteran all-rounder Kieron Pollard’s blistering half-century recovered Multan Sultans to 160/5 before bowlers powered Multan Sultans into the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight final with a dominant victory over Lahore Qalandars.

Set to chase a modest 161 to seal the final berth, the Qalandars’ batting lineup failed completely and was bundled out for a meagre 76 in the 15th over.

The hosts had a dismal start to their run chase as Sultans’ pacers Sheldon Cottrell and Anwar Ali ripped through their top order, causing them to slip to 19/3 in the fourth over with in-form batters Abdullah Shafique (0) and Fakhar Zaman (6) also perishing cheaply.

Qalandars’ skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi promoted himself in the batting order again but the move did not pay off this time around as he too fell victim to red-hot Cottrell inside the powerplay for a two-ball duck.

Following the slump, Hussain Talat and Sam Billings looked to settle things down with a gritty 13-run partnership for the fifth wicket before a casual effort while running between the wickets brought an end to the former’s 10-ball four and added further to the misery of defending champions.

The home side then continued to lose wickets at an alarming rate and soon bundled out for a skimpy total to hand Sultans a resounding 84-run victory and a spot in the final of the extravaganza.

Billings (19) top-scored for Qalandars amid a dismal show while Haris Rauf (15) and David Wiese (12) remained the other notable run-getters as the rest could not even get into the double-figures.

Cottrell led the bowling attack for the Sultans with 3/20, followed by Usama Mir’s 2/12, while Anwar Ali, Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah and Pollard struck out a batter each.

Opting to bat first, the Sultans managed to post 160/5 in their quota of 20 overs at the back of a brilliant 57-run knock by Pollard.

Earlier, the Sultans were off to a cautious start as their in-form opening pair of skipper Mohammad Rizwan and fastest PSL centurion Usman Khan could accumulate 53 runs before Haris Rauf castled the latter in the eighth over.

Usman could score 29 off 28 deliveries and hit four boundaries.

The strong bowling unit of Qalandars then pushed the visitors to the backfoot with calculated bowling, restricting them to 70/1 halfway through.

Young pacer Zaman Khan then drew a second breakthrough for the Qalandars as he dismissed dangerous Rilee Rossouw (13 off 12) on the first delivery of the 11th over and further dented the Sultans’ march for a big total.

Meanwhile, skipper Rizwan, who was hanging around with his gritty knock also fell short after stitching a 20-run partnership for the third wicket with Pollard. He managed to score 33 in 29 balls with the help of three boundaries.

With their struggling at 90/3 in 13 overs, Pollard brought his experience into play and put on a match-defining 65-run partnership with Tim David and ignited the flow of runs for the visitors.

The vital stand pulled Sultans out of heaps of trouble with Pollard leading the charge before falling in the final over. He top-scored for his side with a 34-ball 57, featuring a boundary and six sixes.

David, who out of his character, held his ground firm amid Pollard’s carnage, remained unbeaten with a 22-run cameo off 15 balls, smashing one boundary and a six.

Haris led the bowling attack for the Qalandars with 3/34 while Rashid Khan and Zaman made one scalp each.

LAHORE: Multan Sultans have won the toss and elected to bat first against home side Lahore Qalandars in the first qualifier of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

PLAYING XIs

Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Tahir Baig, Abdullah Shafique, Sam Billings, Hussain Talat, Sikandar Raza, David Wiese, Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan.

Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Usman Khan, Rilee Rossouw, Kieron Pollard, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Sheldon Cottrell, Ihsanullah.

HEAD TO HEAD

Matches 15, Lahore Qalandars 8, Multan Sultans 7

KARACHI: Karachi Kings’ young right-handed batter Tayyab Tahir expressed his pleasure for the opportunity to share the dressing room with ‘great players’ amid his stint with the former champions in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) eight.

Tayyab, who represented the Kings in PSL 8, termed it as a great experience after his side bowed out from the tournament on a winning note.

Taking to Twitter, the top order batter also expressed his pleasure in sharing the dressing room with some great players and stated that the Kings will try to make a strong comeback.

“Well it’s been great feeling to part of [Karachi Kings],” wrote Tayyab. “And feel blessed to sharing dressing room with great players and Thank you so much for this experience,” he added.

“We will try to come harder next year inshAllah.”

Well it’s been great feeling to part of @KarachiKingsARY #HBLPSL8
And feel blessed to sharing dressing room with great players and Thank you so much for this experience.
We will try to come harder next year inshAllah pic.twitter.com/lodZi1STED

— Tayyab Tahir (@imtayyabtahir) March 13, 2023

 

Tayyab represented the Kings in five matches this season. He scored 137 runs at an average of 27.4 and smashed two brilliant half-centuries.

Meanwhile, another emerging cricketer Muhammad Irfan Khan, who impressed with his batting and fielding skills in PSL 8, also expressed his gratitude for concluding the tournament on a winning note and is determined that his side will bounce back in the next edition.

“Alhamdulillah ended the tournament on a high note. Unfortunately couldn’t qualify for the playoffs,” wrote Irfan.

“Thank you everyone for your immense support, we will bounce back next year IN SHA ALLAH,” he added.

Alhamdulillah ended the tournament on a high note. Unfortunately couldn’t qualify for the playoffs…
Thank you everyone for your immense support, we will bounce back next year IN SHA ALLAH! 👊🏻💙@KarachiKingsARY @thePSLt20 #psl #kkfamily pic.twitter.com/M66srR42ef

— Muhammad Irfan Khan (@mirfankhan_75) March 13, 2023

 

It is worth mentioning that notable contributions by debutant opener Muhammad Akhlaq and skipper Imad Wasim guided the Kings to a massive total of 196/7 before bowlers led the side to a crushing 86-run victory over Lahore Qalandars.

The dominating victory over Qalandars in their final PSL 8 fixture lifted the Kings to finish in fifth spot as they concluded the extravaganza with six points in 10 matches.

READ: Sethi clarifies decision of resting key players including captain Babar 

LAHORE: Experienced leg-spinner Imran Tahir was glad that his side Karachi Kings finished their Pakistan Super League (PSL) eight campaign on a winning note after a resounding 86-run victory over table-toppers Lahore Qalandars.

Imran was once again clinical with his bowling performance as he took two wickets for 24 runs against home side Qalandars and played a pivotal role in dismantling their batting order while defending a massive total of 197.

The experienced leg-spinner in an interview briefly after the conclusion of his side’s final PSL 8 fixture, expressed his delight in finishing the tournament on a winning note as the Kings ‘badly needed’ it.

“Yeah look it’s always nice to finish like this when you obviously had a tough campaign. I think we badly needed it, to be very honest with you. We are very glad to finish on a good note,” said Imran.

Imran then went on to assert that the ongoing edition of the PSL has been very tough for the bowlers as the conditions on offer in most of the venues barely supported them.

“If I look at all PSL, I think people need to think about it, it’s been tough for the bowlers. As you see all over Pakistan, in Karachi we had tough conditions – a bit dew – and even in Pindi, it’s been very tough wickets for spinners to bowl,” complained Imran.

“But, it’s been a great experience, I won’t say it was my favourite PSL this year for me personally. Yeah, from the team’s point of view, I think we wanted to finish the way we finished today,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention that a resounding 86-run victory over the leaders Qalandars, lifted the Kings to finish this year’s extravaganza fifth with six points in 10 matches.

LAHORE: Karachi Kings’ skipper Imad Wasim, who was phenomenal with his all-round performance in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) eight stated on Sunday that he would have been happier if his team had advanced into the playoffs.

Imad, during an interview in Pitch Side after Karachi Kings’ resounding 86-run victory over Lahore Qalandars, responded to a question regarding his brilliant individual performance and stated that it did not mean much to the all-rounder.

“Look, we are paid professionals so it is our job to perform but I don’t rate individual performances much. If our team had qualified [for the playoffs] or played the final then it would be nice,” shared Imad.

“I personally think if you perform so much and yet your team does not go through then to me such performances are not beneficial. People think I played really well so yes, I did, but winning it for your team is a different thing and I’m more disappointed about that,” he continued.

The Kings’ skipper then reflected upon his team’s journey in this year’s PSL and reiterated close defeats and struggle in death bowling as the main rationales behind their shortcoming.

“As many matches we played, were all close ones, if the results were opposite, we would be second but it did not happen. We played good cricket throughout the tournament but we made some mistakes and it cost us and that’s what happens in T20 cricket,” said Imad.

“We faced difficulty in death bowling in the tournament. I think it cost us the entire season. So, it is very important. What I feel personally is that our team batted really well and everyone played with decent strike rates but again death bowling cost us,” he maintained.

Imad then pointed out the positives from his team’s progress in PSL 8 and termed the emergence of their youngsters – Qasim Akram and Irfan Khan Niazi – stood out for the team.

“I think, the way Irfan Khan Niazi came to the limelight is not easy for an emerging player. Our team’s prime goal is to play and win the playoff and the second is to give talented players to our country, who can serve the national team in future. I think Irfan Niazi and Qasim [Akram] have a lot of time to play cricket,” stated Imad.

“Secondly, the way Akhlaq played, how brilliant was when he got the chance. It was unfortunate that he couldn’t get the chance earlier since we had James Vince and Matthew Wade.

“So, such things often happen that you make chop and change but those who are your main players, you try to trust them and we did exactly that. Moreover, we do not have any regrets but yes we are saddened that we couldn’t advance in the tournament,” Imad concluded.

It is pertinent to mention that after Akhlaq and Imad’s brilliance propelled the Kings to 196/7 the Kings’ bowlers crushed the Qalandars’ batting unit to script a resounding 86-run victory.

The dominating victory over Qalandars in their final PSL 8 fixture lifted the Kings to finish in fifth spot as they finished with six points in 10 matches.

READ: Kings’ Akhlaq ‘pleased’ with his match-winning knock against Qalandars

LAHORE: Karachi Kings’ debutant right-handed opener Muhammad Akhlaq was pleased with his match-winning half-century knock against Lahore Qalandars in the last group fixture of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

Akhlaq, who was adjudged the player of the match for his magnificent 51 which powered the Kings to a competitive total, interacted with the media and expressed his satisfaction with his brilliant performance.

“I’m thankful to Almighty Allah for granting me respect in my debut match. I felt really good to play for Karachi Kings,” said Akhlaq.

“I’ve played for Islamabad [United] and Karachi [Kings] and enjoyed my time being in both sides and also learn a lot. But in Karachi [Kings], the Almighty Allah granted with respect,” he maintained.

The right-handed batter then commented on the Kings’ campaign in the PSL 8 and asserted that few close losses and below-par death bowling dented their march to the playoffs.

“Our team was outstanding but we’ve been unlucky in this tournament as we lost most of the matches by close margins. So, I think it was just bad luck. Things were going well but we couldn’t get satisfactory results in the end,” Akhlaq said.

“The prime reason behind our defeats was that we were struggling in the death bowling, we couldn’t bowl well in the last five overs of the innings,” he added.

It is worth mentioning that after Akhlaq propelled the Kings to 196/7 the Kings’ bowlers crushed the Qalandars’ batting unit to script a resounding 86-run victory.

The dominating victory over Qalandars in their final PSL 8 fixture lifted the Kings to finish in fifth spot as they finished with six points in 10 matches.

READ: Akhlaq, bowlers power Karachi Kings to thrash Lahore Qalandars

LAHORE: Karachi Kings’ head coach Johan Botha summed up his team’s campaign in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight and termed skipper Imad Wasim’s red-hot form as one of the positives for the former champions.

Head coach Botha, in an interview on the sidelines of the Kings’ final PSL 8 fixture against home side Lahore Qalandars, pragmatically highlighted the shortcomings and positives for the Kings before praising skipper Imad for his brilliance with the bat throughout the season.

“I think Imad batted well as I’ve ever seen him bat. So, he’s obviously had a purple patch in the tournament and in the batting point of view, he has been outstanding,” said Botha.

The Kings’ head coach then mentioned other key performers for his side in the PSL 8 and highly rated the significant contributions of James Vince, Mohammad Amir and Irfan Khan Niazi.

“James Vince for short period was excellent. I think Niazi for an emerging player, put his name out there. He’s a really talented player, an excellent fielder and he’s shown little glimpses,” shared Botha.

“Amir was bit with niggles, hot and cold but you can never question his commitment to the team. He was excellent whenever he was on the field. So hopefully, in the future, we can have him 100 per cent fit for all 10 games. He’s still a star performer,” he maintained.

Kings’ coach Botha then went on to assert that some close losses hurt the team’s campaign in the ongoing season and barred them from qualifying for the playoffs.

“We obviously had a couple of close losses and that’s gonna hurt you someway along the line. We lost three games with single figures and we lost another two games [by a close margin],” stated Botha.

“It’s been that close but at the end of the day that doesn’t get written at the end of the tournament and unfortunately we’re one of the teams that won’t be making it to the playoffs,” he concluded.

READ: Kohli ends Test ton drought with 186 as India dominate Australia

LAHORE: Right-handed opener Muhammad Akhlaq struck a magnificent half-century on debut bowlers bolstered Karachi Kings to a dominating 86-run victory over Lahore Qalandars in the last group fixture of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight.

Set to chase a massive 197, the Qalandars’ batting lineup crumbled against a disciplined Kings’ bowling attack and consequently bundled out for a meagre 110 in absence of Rashid Khan, who got retired hurt.

The Qalandars were never in the hunt as the side lost their in-form openers Fakhar Zaman (13) and Abdullah Shafique (2) cheaply with just 20 runs on the scoreboard in four overs.

The hosts then dealt with another setback when Akif Javed castled Kamran Ghulam (11) in the sixth over and tightened the Kings’ grip on the game.

Qalandars’ batting lineup then continued to crumble against the Kings’ bowling attack before eventually being restricted to 110/9 in the 19th over.

Since their all-rounder Rashid, got retired hut after sustaining a blow on his head, the Qalandars were deemed all out and thus Kings registered a dominating 86-run victory over the hosts.

Hussain Talat top-scored amid Qalandars’ dismal show with the bat with a gritty run-a-ball 25, while Haris Rauf (18) remained the other notable run-getter.

Skipper Imad, Imran Tahir, Mohammad Umar and Akif bagged two wickets each, while James Fuller struck out a batter.

Opting to bat first, the Kings’ batters dominated the depleted Qalandars’ bowling attack as the visitors piled up a massive total of 196/7 on the scoreboard after some collective effort.

Earlier, the Kings got off to an unwanted start as opening batter Haider Ali fell in the first over after managing to score eight off five deliveries.

Following the early setback, debutant Akhlaq alongside Tayyab Tahir scripted their side’s recovery as the pair added 70 runs to the total at a quick pace.

Tayyab, who was looking solid to bring up his second half-century of the season, fell 10 runs short as Talat broke the crucial partnership in the eighth over. He scored a quick 40 off just 23 deliveries with four boundaries and a six.

Talat then struck again in the same over as he dismissed Qasim Akram (2) to dent the Kings’ flying start; restricting them to 83/3 in eight overs.

Following back-to-back dismissals, skipper Imad joined Akhlaq in the middle and settled things down for his side with a brief fourth-wicket partnership with the latter bringing up his half-century in 34 balls.

Akhlaq, however, could not stretch his brilliant knock and fell to Rauf in the 13th over. He top-scored for the Kings with 51 in 36 balls, hitting five boundaries and two sixes.

Imad then changed gears after Akhlaq’s departure and charged on the Qalandars’ bowlers amid his vital 52-run partnership with Ben Cutting.

The captain carried on his sublime form to score a blistering 45 in 31 deliveries, laced up with six boundaries before Zaman castled him in the 18th over.

Cutting then thrashed Haris all over the park in the 19th over to bolster the total at the backend before falling in the same over after an important cameo of 33 in 14 deliveries, featuring two boundaries and three sixes.

Later, all-rounder Fuller’s unbeaten 10 runs in five deliveries, made sure the Kings post a defendable total.

Zaman, Haris and Talat led the bowling attack for the Qalandars with two wickets each, while Dilbar made one scalp.