PSL8: Lahore Qalandars win by 4 wickets against Peshawar Zalmi; to face Multan Sultans in Final

LAHORE – Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi in Eliminator 2 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023 today (Friday) at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.

Earlier, Peshawar Zalmi set a target of 172 runs for Lahore Qalandars. Chasing the target, Lahore Qalandars scored the required runs in 18.5 overs with four wickets in hand.

Peshawar Zalmi were one step away from the final after they defeated Shadab Khan’s Islamabad United by 12 runs in Eliminator 1 on Thursday. Aamar Jamal was named the Player of the Match after he picked up the crucial wickets of Sohaib Maqsood and Alex Hales.

Zalmi puffed on their way through to the playoffs by finishing fourth in the league stage. They won five out of 10 games and failed to defend targets of above 240 twice.

On the other hand, Lahore Qalandars led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, won seven of their first 10 league matches and were the first team to advance to the playoffs by cementing their spot in the top two. But since then, the defending champions have suffered two back-to-back defeats.

After being bowled out for 110 in their last league game against Karachi Kings, they slumped to a 84-run defeat at the hands of the Multan Sultans in the Qualifier.

Probable XIs

Lahore Qalandars

Fakhar Zaman, Mirza Tahir Baig, Abdullah Shafique, Sam Billings (wk), Hussain Talat, Sikandar Raza, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan

Peshawar Zalmi

Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Haseebullah Khan (wk), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, James Neesham, Aamer Jamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Wahab Riaz, Salman Irshad