The reigning champions defeated Peshawar Zalmi in Elimination 2 at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday night, surpassing the mark of 172 with four wickets and seven balls to spare. They will face Multan Sultans in the HBL Pakistan Super League 8 final on Saturday.
In only the second over, Lahore Qalandars lost their most seasoned player, Fakhar Zaman (six off five), but Tahir made sure that his team was never put in a tight spot. During his first HBL PSL half-century, the right-hander formed vital partnerships worth 24 with rookie Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti (15 off 10), 31 with Abdullah Shafique (10 off 10), and 50 with Billings. Tahir hit two sixes and seven fours.
Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi
Following his removal, Billings and Sikandar used their combined experience to their advantage, putting up a solid partnership of 28 runs to prevent the Peshawar Zalmi bowlers from recovering the way they did against Islamabad United the night before. Despite the fact that the two batters were removed in the 17th and 18th overs, they had done enough to ensure that their side crossed the finish line.
Also Read: Peshawar Zalmi Beats out Islamabad United in Eliminator 1 of PSL 8
Shaheen Afridi, the captain of the Lahore Qalandars, provided the final touches with his bat as he hit a four and a six to help his team cross the finish line. Mohammad Haris’ incredible strokeplay controlled the opening half of the game. After coming to the crease in only the second over, the youthful aggressive top-order batsman hammered 85 off 54, which featured 11 fours and two sixes.
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To provide the ideal foundation for a large total, Haris built up an 89-run partnership with his skipper Babar Azam. Azam missed what would have been his sixth half-century in the HBL PSL 8 by eight runs. Nevertheless, Rashid Khan’s consecutive strikes in the 12th over that dismissed Tom Kohler-Cadmore (0 off 2) and Babar (42 off 36) slowed the scoring rate. No batter after that performed as Peshawar Zalmi had intended.
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Before being bowled out on the final delivery of the 18th over, Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored 25 not out of 18 balls, while Haris contributed 49 runs with the Sri Lankan. Saim Ayub (nine off five) and Aamir Jamal (one-off three) were the first and last wickets taken by Peshawar Zalmi. Zaman Khan finished with two for 20 off three. Rashid came back with two of four for 42.
Also Read: PSL8: Peshawar Zalmi Beat Islamabad United By 13 runs, PSL Season 8 Match 29
Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars, the two finalists, will compete against one another four times in this edition. Lahore Qalandars had prevailed twice in the previous three meetings, but Multan Sultans upset them in the most recent game, the Qualifier, which was played on Wednesday. Last year, Lahore Qalandars won the HBL PSL 7 championship by defeating Multan Sultans.
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