The explosive Lahore Qalandars combo of Sikandar Raza and Daryl Mitchell pulled up a rapid 89-run stand to take their team to victory and the second slot on the PSL 2025 table, while the Multan Sultans lost the game due to their chaos with the ball at the end.
Following the Sultans’ request to bat, Qalandars’ seamers prevented Mohammad Rizwan and Yasir Khan, the openers, from escaping during the powerplay, which resulted in 39 runs being scored and Yasir’s wicket. For the most part, Rizwan was unable to change gears as he needed to and had to graft his way through.
The Sultans batters suffered greatly as a result of Tom Curran’s sluggish deliveries. In the eleventh over, he defeated Shai Hope with a ball that went over the gate and nipped back in sharply, leaving Sultans at a vulnerable 70 for 3.
At that point, Kamran Ghulam joined Rizwan, and their innings finally gained some momentum. They were able to reach a competitive total because they consistently found boundaries. The score reached 185 after Haris Rauf gave up 20 in the final over. Ghulam got his 52 not out off just 31 balls, finishing at 167.74, while Rizwan batted through the innings to end at 76 off 48 balls.
It appeared sufficient on a pitch where the ball was not hitting the bat very well.
The Qalandars launched an assault right away and began their pursuit with obvious intent. Abdullah Shafique, at number three, played fluid cricket from the minute he left, but Muhammad Naeem fell cheaply. His brilliant flick off Mohammad Hasnain in the seventh over was perfectly timed, elegant, and graceful.
Even though Mitchell took his time to assess the situation, the middle-order chasing talents Mitchell and Raza were set up to carry their team to a position of dominance.
The game hung in the balance at the end of the 12th over when Shafique was lured into chasing a delivery in the channel that climbed higher than he had anticipated by Ubaid Shah. He got Sam Billings to miscue to deep backward square for a three-ball duck in the same over.
However, there was no panic. Before that, Mitchell hadn’t been very quick at scoring runs, but now that Raza was in his element, he appeared to catch on.
In their stand that continued into the 19th over, they hit eight sixes between them, taking 14, 11, and 18 in overs 13, 14, and 15 to tip the scales in favour of the Qalandars. As they went after Ubaid and Akif Javed in the 18th and 19th overs, respectively, it was ultimately a walk to the finish line. With one over remaining, Raza completed the task with 40 not out in 21 balls after Mitchell perished for a 64 off 38 balls.
For Sultans, who are caught at the bottom of the standings because they are unable to regularly put forth well-knit efforts, it was a familiar tale. With four games left, they are in danger of elimination after their fifth loss and have moved into the must-win zone.
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