Shaheen’s Qalandars Crowned Champions: Lahore Qalandars defeated Quetta Gladiators by six wickets in a thrilling finale, clinching their third HBL PSL title in four yea.

Lahore, (Sports Reporter) Shaheen Shah Afridi’s Lahore Qalandars clinched their third HBL PSL title in four years by defeating Quetta Gladiators by six wickets in a thrilling finale. The match was played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday night in front of a packed house Qalandars successfully chased down a target of 202 runs with one ball to spare, marking their second-highest successful chase. This achievement also makes them the second team, after Islamabad United, to win three HBL PSL titles.The successful 202-run chase by Qalandars is the highest target surmounted by a team in a T20 final. Kusal Perera and Sikandar Raza played a crucial role in Qalandars’ victory, stitching an unbeaten 59-run partnership in 19 balls.Perera top-scored for Qalandars with a blazing 62 not out, while Raza scored 22 not out. When Perera and Raza got together, Qalandars required 57 off 20 balls. Raza made his mark right from the start, striking a six and a four against Mohammad Amir.In the subsequent over, Perera struck two sixes against Khurram Shahzad, consigning him to 16 runs. With the required rate above 15, the penultimate over saw Qalandars scoring 18 runs. Perera again smacked Amir for two fours and a six, bringing the equation down to 13 required off the final over. Faheem Ashraf gave away only five runs on the first three balls before Raza bludgeoned a sensational six over deep cover-point followed by a four – the winning shot.Perera’s match-winning performance was a culmination of his impressive form in the tournament. He harvested 170 runs in four games this season and backed up his Eliminator two half-centuries with the match-winning unbeaten fifty in the final. Earlier, Mohammad Naeem provided Qalandars with a head-start, striking six sixes and one four in his 27-ball 46. He shared a 39-run opening stand with Fakhar Zaman and a steady 46-run second-wicket partnership with Abdullah Shafique.Qalandars were 97-2 at the halfway stage before they belted the required remaining 105 runs off the next 9.5 overs. Abdullah Shafique and Bhanuka Rajapaksa also played crucial roles in Qalandars’ innings.In Quetta Gladiators’ innings, Hasan Nawaz fought back with 76 off 43 balls, keeping the run flow going. Hasan and Rilee Rossouw wrestled back with a 19-ball 37-run stand after two early blows.Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Salman Mirza removed both openers cheaply, but Hasan and Avishka Fernando’s 67-run stand for the fourth wicket kept Lahore’s bowling attack on their toes. Shaheen returned impressive figures of 4-0-24-3, while Salman and Haris picked up two wickets each.