Lahore Qalandars clashed with Peshawar Zalmi in their home ground of Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in the 15th match of the ongoing PSL 2023 on February 26. Qalandars are placed at 4th in the PSL points table and Zalmi is in fifth position.
Shaheen Afridi won the toss and chose that Qalandars will bat first and they did take full advantage of the docile Lahore pitch. Though Zalmi started well as Wahab Riaz (2/45) dismissed Mirza Baig for 5 runs, then Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, and Sam Billings destroyed the Zalmi bowling lineup.
Zaman made 96 in 45 balls with eyewatering 10 sixes and 3 fours, while Shafique hammered 75 in 41 balls with 5 fours and 5 sixes. Billings gave the perfect finish to Qalandars with 47* in 23 balls with 5 sixes and 3 fours as the Shaheen Afridi-led team ended with a mammoth 241/3 in 20 overs.
In reply, Shaheen Afridi rattled both the Zalmi openers in Mohammad Haris and Babar Azam. Haris was clean bowled for a duck, while Babar, the Zalmi captain, received a special delivery from his counterpart.
Afridi was hit for a four straight down the ground by Babar on a fuller delivery on the 5th ball of the third over. However, Afridi came back strongly and bowled a faster delivery on the same line.
But the length was shortened a bit and the ball swung into Babar, who didn’t move his feet much as the ball rattled his middle stump and lightened the zing bails up, and the Zalmi captain walked off for 7 runs.
Here is the video:
