Shakeel's unbeaten 88 secures playoffs passage for Quetta Gladiators
Two-time champions Lahore Qalandars finish their campaign with one win in ten games
Associated Press
11-Mar-2024
Saud Shakeel's half-century guided Quetta Gladiators' chase • PSL
Quetta Gladiators 169 for 4 (Shakeel 88*, Jahandad 2-30) beat Lahore Qalandars 166 for 4 (Shafeeq 59*, Afridi 55, Abrar 2-31) by six wickets
Quetta Gladiators finally sealed a playoff spot in the PSL after four years as Mohammad Wasim pulled Shaheen Shah Afridi for a last-ball six and handed Lahore Qalandars a six-wicket defeat on Sunday.
That left the two-time defending champion Qalandars finishing their disastrous season with only one win in ten league games. Fourth-place Gladiators have 11 points and could still finish among the top two if they beat leader Multan Sultans in the final league game on Tuesday.
Opening batter Saud Shakeel anchored Quetta's run chase of 169 for 4 with an unbeaten 88 off 65 balls that included two successive boundaries against Afridi in the final over before Wasim smacked Lahore's captain over mid-wicket for a winning six off the last ball.
Left-arm fast bowler Jahandad Khan (2 for 30) squeezed Gladiators' chase in the first half of the innings with the wickets of Jason Roy (18) and skipper Rilee Rossouw (13) before Shakeel and Khawaja Nafay (26) put on a 70-run stand.
Earlier, Afridi hit 55 after promoting himself to No. 5 and Abdullah Shafique was 59 not out as Lahore made 166 for 4 after choosing to bat first. He hit two fours and four sixes and was involved in a 91-run partnership with Shafique. Shafique himself scored 59 in 39 in the first innings to help Qalandars finish on 166.