Sultans vs Qalandars, Qualifier at Lahore, PSL 2023, Mar 15 2023 - Match Result

Right, that's all from us. Thanks for tuning in through the evening, and we'll be back tomorrow for Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi in the Eliminator. Cheers!

Mohammad Rizwan shakes hands with the various dignitaries, and is joined by Multan's owner. "The ball was coming onto the bat early and we wanted to establish a platform. But the wicket looked double paced, and we needed to navigate Lahore's bowling carefully. We initially aimed for 170, but by the 15th over, we would also have taken 145-150. But Tim David and Kieron Pollard gave us a few extra runs."

Alamgir Tareen, the owner, is bizarrely now giving an interview too! "What these guys have pulled off, beating Lahore who have maybe the No. 1 and No. 2 bowlers in the world... they always believed in what they were bringing," he says. "It's a privilege to be part of it, and it's a privilege to have Rizzy as our captain. These guys are going to be prepared. Let me tell you, when Rizzy is going to lead the team onto the field, you've got to be confident."

10.37pm: We've got the full-on presentation now. Kieron Pollard is the Player of the Match and picks up his novelty cheque. "[Pitch?] A challenging one. It's just a matter of understanding the conditions and understanding what is needed. It was just a matter of planning well. Cancelled practice yesterday. None of us had played for three days. That shows cricket is played in the minds. Yes, they have a very good bowling attack but we realised that as soon as you get on top of them, they tend to crack. With Tim and myself, we just tried to keep our base. The pitch is a bit different from what we have got accustomed to. Other teams would love to be in our position, waiting for the final."

Shaheen Afridi is next up... general vibe seems to be that they felt as though they had bowled alright and didn't turn up with the bat. Danyal Rasool has stepped in to translate for me: "When your prime batter gets out early, that puts pressure on you. A good catch, a good run-out, can win you the match, and we missed opportunities towards the end of the innings there. I don't think the conditions were poor, the ball was swinging nicely and Multan made great use of conditions at the start of our innings."

Anwar Ali is speaking to Zainab Abbas. "As a team effort, outstanding," he says. "Plans were simple, positive cricket with intent. We'll try and keep it simple in the final. We always enjoy the final." Sorry, my Urdu isn't up to scratch so I don't have much more than that from him...

Ahsan Butt: "Making three consecutive finals is no fluke. People should start paying attention to data."

Paul Muchmore tells me this is the lowest-ever PSL total in a match staged in Pakistan, and the third-lowest overall.

10.25pm: That is a shellacking. Multan looked like they were heading for a below-par total as they knocked the ball around after choosing to bat first, but Pollard's half-century dragged them up to 160. With the ball, they produced an inspired performance, led by Sheldon Cottrell but backed up by the rest of the attack too. Lahore will get another chance to reach the final on Friday, when they will play the winner of the game between Islamabad and Peshawar tomorrow.

Abbas Afridi will look to wrap things up

Zaman Khan at No. 11.

Umer Maqsood: "Considering how Lahore wickets are falling, Rizwan's innings seems very reasonable." -- Yes, it's aged well! Not a straightforward pitch, I don't think.

Haris Rauf. Slip in.

Ahsan Butt: "This has been some turnaround by Sultans! From struggling to make it to the playoffs to being the first team to make it to the final!"