12.10pm The trophy has been handed to Sammy. He simply owned the Gaddafi Stadium today. Look at his million-dollar smile. The Peshawar players now get together and soak in the victory. What a day for Pakistan cricket! It was probably more than cricket. It was about changing perceptions. It was about Pakistan's resilience. It was about Lahore's resilience. It was about proving Lahore still is a city of joy. It was about the cricket-starved fans in the country. Well done, everybody. Hope you enjoyed this grand final as much as we did bringing it to you. Thanks for your feedback and comments. This is Deivarayan Muthu signing off on the behalf of Venkat Raghav. Goodbye and good night.
Abdul Aleey: "Sanga should be best wicketkeeper of tournament for those two flying catches..."
Burhan: "National call up for kamran akmal, anyone?"
11.50pm Presentation:
Misbah collects the ICC spirit of cricket award from Shaharyar Khan on the behalf of the Pakistan team
Misbah: I am very much happy and I would like to thank the ICC, all the Pakistan boys, and the fans. It's all about their spirit and the discipline. I am receiving this on the behalf of the whole team. I am really delighted I am in Lahore for this final. Many congratulations to Peshawar for winning it. Congratulations to Quetta for reaching the finals back-to-back.
Kamran Akmal is the best wicketkeeper of the tournament. He is also the best batsman of the tournament.
Sohail Khan is the best bowler of the tournament. Hasan Ali collects the trophy on the behalf of Sohail
Bumper night for Kamran Akmal, who is also the Man of the tournament. Time is ripe for a re-plug of this Osman Samiuddin special on Kamran Akmal.
Kamran: Credit to team management and players. Definitely, I am knocking on the doors of selection. I carried a lot of confidence from domestic cricket. I didn't perform well in the initial matches, but the management kept their faith in me.
Sarfraz: We have chased bigger totals before this, but we failed to chase today. Ahmed Shehzad was a positive for us this season and so were a lot of players. Thanks to the crowd for egging us on
Sammy (The Lahore crowd erupts): To me it's just more than a game. It first started in the draft. Lala made the big announcement that I would be the captain. This trophy means a lot. Lala influenced my decision to come here. I felt tonight I brought a lot of smiles in Lahore and Peshawar. It is an amazing day. We thought with the new ball we did well. If we get 150-160 it would be a good total. We did get to 148 and our bowlers have been doing well this tournament. The Peshawar is not just a cricket team, we do a lot for the fans, the foundation. Thanks to the PCB, and the PSL. I am glad I came to experience the atmosphere here. Even though Peshawar came out on top, cricket was the real winner in Lahore.
11.40pm Here is our team of the tournament. Do you agree with our picks?
11.30pm Say hello to the new champions of the PSL: Peshawar Zalmi. They had a blazing start with the bat, racking up 52 runs in the Powerplay. The Quetta spinners, led by Mohammad Nawaz, then applied the brakes in the middle overs, but Peshawar's captain Darren Sammy wrestled back the momentum with some muscular tugs. His cameo - 28 not out off 11 balls - was crucial in lifting the side to 148 on a sluggish track.
Hasan Ali found movement in the air and off the pitch to make light work of Quetta's top order in the chase. Mohammad Asghar and Mohammad Hafeez then got grip and turn as Peshawar gutted Quetta's batting line-up. Anwar, Sarfraz and Ervine made twenty-somethings each, but it only served to reduce the margin of defeat. In hindsight, the patchwork Quetta team did miss the services of their key overseas players - KP, Rossouw, Wright and Mills - who did not travel to Lahore.
It would be amiss if I don't lap up the full house at the Gadaffi Stadium. They really lit up this spectacle. Who'd have thought the Lahore crowd would be chanting "Sammy, Sammy". One had to be in Lahore to experience it. This was probably more than cricket for Lahore. Do look out for features from Messrs Danyal Rasool and Umar Farooq. And stick with me for the presentation.
Adnan: "Seeing so much passion of crowd and such a great hospitality and love from the crowd, KP, Rossow, Mills and other foreign players will be thinking what they missed by not playing final in Lahore. They would have earned lot of respect from this nation for bringing cricket to their country. But whatever, cricket still wins."
Raj: "Sammy yo beauty! Adds the PSL title to the WT20 titles."
Mazhar Shehzaad: "We know Quetta lost the 4 overseas players but lets not take credit away from Peshawar. They were brilliant throughout and then convinced their players to come to Pakistan. Shows how much it meant for the players too. Quetta didnt play too well in the second innings. "
Abdullah Saleem: "It seems a bit unfair to Gladiators given how well they have played throughout the tournament. They missed their foreign players. But in the end Pakistan won and Cricket won. This is a big step towards bringing international cricket back to Pakistan and hope to see international teams touring Pakistan in near future."
Mian Hamza Arif: "Who will be the man of the match...??sammy/Kamran?" -- I vote for Sammy
Mube: "Lowest score for QG in whole PSL. "