Qalandars vs Sultans, 1st Match at Multan, PSL 2023, Feb 13 2023 - Ball by Ball Commentary

Whoa! That was one heck of a game and the tournament couldn't have started any better. The exhilarating flows and twists of this tournament opener will remain in the memories of everyone who tuned in. Multan Sultans were in the driving seat for the most part of the chase until Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf bowled their heart out and it was probably one of the finest display of bowling, they nailed their yorkers and made life onerous for the batters. The floodgates were opened once Rizwan got dismissed and the asking rate kept creeping up. Afridi and Rauf joined forces just at the right time to choke the opposition and even the two of the best power hitters in the world David Miller and Kieron Pollard had to knuckle under. And what a fabulous last over from Zaman; he held his nerve in the final over and stuck to his guns. Thanks for joining us. It's time for me, Rvel Zahid, to say goodbye on behalf of Thilak Ramamurthy. We'll see you very soon. Remember, the second PSL game is tomorrow between Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi.

Shaheen Afridi, Lahore Qalandars captain: We got off to a good start. We have many options with the ball. Credit to Zaman for the way he finished it off. The message to the team was that one wicket would bring us back. We didn't field well, will try to get better at it.

Mohammad Rizwan, Multan Sultans captain: The way we were going it looked like we would get there easily. But their bowling did exactly what it's known for. It's cricket, it happens. They had two top bowlers in their side, they open the bowling for Pakistan and credit to them for delivering at a crucial time.

Fakhar Zaman, Player of the Match: The pitch wasn't like we initially expected. We thought it would come on nicely, but it was helping pacers a bit. We left a few runs out there, but with our bowling 175 is good.

KLPR: "Dont know whether it over-confidence on his own ability, or want to consume the pressure, but K.Pollard's refusal to believe the non-strikers is not new, in the recently concluded UAE T20 leage, he refused to take single when Dwaye Bravo was non-strikers end. Today it was Khushdil Shah, where Pollard went for non-existent 2. These small mistakes will cost you games/"

Prasu: "Those 2 gun-point throws by H.Talat and L.Dawson must not get unrecognized for tonight's Lahore's win."

Mohi: "First PSL match seems the Final of PSL 8"

Sarath: "Why wasn't Akeal Hosein sent out, after K.Pollard got out ? Is it because, Multan management thought to have left-and-right hand composition ? A.Hosein is a clean striker of the ball. Small mistakes costed game for Multan today. "

Laks: "S.Raza made a mess on 18.6 for Lahore, Pollard went for non-existent 2 on 19.2, when Khushdil is at other end, may be he should have stayed for 1. Seems Multan's mistake costed them dearly than Lahore's"

ShahSafeer: "Pollard's lack of believe in Khushdil forced him to take the second run which wasn't there anyway. It costed MS the game. "

Zayd Amjad : "Usama Mir hesitated on the first run and came back slowly to get Khushdil on strike. Very imortant run that would have been!"

Husnaen Majeed : "PSL is really the best league in the world, in terms of the quality of cricket. What a game. "

Sania: "Omg what a match, what an over by zaman what a captaincy from shaheen what a fielding in last over especially,"

Shakaib: "After watching the first match, can't wait to see Babar vs Amir "

Sanyia: "OMG what a thrilling match it was but what a brilliant captaincy from Shaheen and what an outstanding last over by zaman "

MSRK: "May be M.Rizwan should have played with more intent ? With finishers like Pollard/Miller/Khushdil Shah (and not to forget pinch-hitter A.Hosein), may be bring one of those to up the batting order, after the fall of 1st wicket (or even promote A.Hosein as opener with Rizwan and ask him to do what S.Narine used to do)"

Zain: "It might not show on the stats and figures of this opening fixture but that 20 run cameo from Talat, the first wicket of Masood and then that run out is a major contribution towards the win for the Qalandars. Not a bad start to PSL 8. What a game. "

Riasat Ali Asad: "What a fantastic start to PSL8!"

Mohd Irshad: "Does not matter how good you start if don't know how to finish."

Abbasi: "Lets see who will play Kohli here"

Sohail: "ah, typical aroma of bowling dominant Pakistan team in Lahore Qalandars"

Sania: "Nail biting match but MS will win "

ShahSafeer: "Khushdil has been Sultans' fine finisher since last season, I hope he will get the job done for his team tonight as well!"

Usman: "I heard someone was saying "pollard and miller. this could finish in just 2 overs. phew." well well well...... :-D"

Majid: "This is so emotional watching Shaheen bowling again with such ferocity. IMPRESSIVE"

Malik Murad: "Excellent death bowling by Rauf and Shaheen. "