Is Lahore Qalandars out of PSL: Lahore Qalandars ended up on the losing side in the first Pakistan Super League 2022 playoff match.
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During the qualifier match of the ongoing seventh season of the Pakistan Super League between Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars in Lahore, Multan Sultans defeated Lahore Qalandars by 28 runs to confirm a final berth.
In what was their 10th victory in 11th PSL 7 match, it is the second time in three outings that the defending champions have defeated Lahore this season.
Chasing a mediocre 164-run target, all Qalandars could manage was 135/9 in 20 overs despite opening batter and highest run-scorer Fakhar Zaman scoring a hard-hitting 63 (45) comprising of two fours and four sixes.
Multan fast bowler Shahnawaz Dahani once again emerged as the pick of their bowlers with bowling figures of 4-0-19-3. While all-rounder David Willey also picked a couple of wickets, the likes of Rumman Raees, Asif Afridi and Khushdil Shah picked a wicket apiece.
Asked to bat first by LQ captain Shaheen Shah Afridi (4-0-31-1, 1), Sultans put on board 163/2 in their allotted quota of overs on the back of a 113-run partnership between captain Mohammad Rizwan (53*) and batter Rilee Rossouw (65*). Rizwan, whose strike rate of 103.92 invited severe criticism, managed his troops in a way that his 51-ball innings ended up on the winning side.
Is Lahore Qalandars out of PSL?
Lahore, who were the second-best team in the league stage after winning six out of their 10 matches, aren’t out of PSL 2022 by any means. An advantage of finishing in the Top two is that the losing team of the qualifier match gets another shot at the final match.
Readers must note that PSL 7 Eliminator 1 will be played between Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United tonight. While the loser of this match will get knocked out of the tournament, the winner will lock horns against Qalandars in Eliminator 2.
Scheduled to be played tomorrow at the Gaddafi Stadium, Eliminator 2 will decide the the second finalist of PSL 2022. It is noteworthy that the final match will be played at the same venue on Sunday.
