The seventh edition of Pakistan’s brand cricket event HBL PSL will conclude today at its historic Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore with the winner crowned on the head of either Lahore Qalandars or Multan Sultan.
If we take an overall look at Pakistan Super League 7, the teams of Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators looked bright from the beginning of the event who could endure the gold. But their players got injured and left the team in trouble. Karachi Kings leader Babar Azam was also able to lead his team to victory in one of the 10 matches.
The Quetta Gladiators team failed to put up an impressive performance this time as in the previous event. The Quetta team also had the services of English better Jason Roy in their last 5 matches, however, the Quetta team did not reach the playoffs.
If we talk about the teams of Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United, then both of them will definitely reach the playoff stage, but they are lucky not to make a place in the final. Peshawar Zalmi did not play well in their first five matches but played well in the last five matches and reached the playoffs while Islamabad United lost their last match to Lahore despite playing well from the start, it went out of the race.
If we talk about Lahore Qalandars, then Fakhar Zaman and Rashid Khan gave a great start to their team from the very beginning and throughout the event, his team got the best place on the points table, after which Lahore has the honor of playing in the final for the second time.
The reason for Lahore Qalandars winning the match at Qaddafi Stadium was also the home crowd that fully supports Lahore by filling the stadium house which unfortunately we did not get to see in Karachi and this is a big question mark on the promotion of cricket in Karachi.
Speaking of the Multan Sultans team, the defending team led by Mohammad Rizwan remained like a winner in the entire event and with their excellent performance won the hearts of cricket fans and maintained the top position on the points table. In the entire event, they lost only one match out of 11 and also lost to Lahore in the final.
Current and former captains Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood played a significant role in Multan Sultan’s victories. Similarly, Imran Tahir and Shahnawaz Dhani also contributed a lot to the success of their team in the field of bowling.
Speaking of the entire HBL PSL, the encouraging thing was that in all the matches played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Qalandars played its full role in making this tournament a success for Pakistan. Qalandars staying in the stadium for all the matches kept the teams motivated.
Talking about today’s final, looking at both the teams, it seems that there will be a division match at Gaddafi Stadium today. However, if you look at the statistics of this event, the Multan Sultans team seems to be the favorite It would be foolish to consider him weak. The Lahore crowd fully supports his team which can put pressure on the contestant.
Multan Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan has repeatedly told his team that it is impossible to be a champion without playing in front of any conditions and crowd and in this event, Multan Sultans have proved with their performances than they did in the previous event that it is the champion and has entered the field to defend his title and maintain the continuity of victory.
Today, it remains to be seen whether Lahore captain Shaheen Shah Afridi’s fast bowling will put Multan Sultan in trouble or whether Mohammad Rizwan’s skyscrapers will add a new dimension to his team.