Billings, Abdullah, Rashid lead Lahore Qalandars’ 21-run victory

Table-toppers Lahore Qalandars put another fantastic performance on Saturday night at the Gaddafi Stadium to defeat Multan Sultans by 21 runs.

Sam Billings’ maiden half-century of the season and Abdullah Shafique’s 48 helped Lahore Qalandars to 180 for nine after which a splendid show with the ball, in which Rashid Khan stood out with three for 15, restricted Multan Sultans to 159 for seven.

Match Summary

Lahore Qalandars 180/9 (20 ov)

Multan Sultans 159/7 (20 ov)

Player of the match – Rashid Khan (Lahore Qalandars)

Lahore Qalandars won by 21 runs.

SCORECARD  

Lahore Qalandars lost Fakhar Zaman on only third ball of the match after Shaheen Afridi elected to bat. Abdullah made his intentions clear from the first ball as he drove Sameen Gul down the ground for a boundary. The right-hander has been in good touch this season and his bat continued to ooze runs as he added 50 runs for the second wicket with Mirza Tahir Baig (17 off 11) and 69 for the third with Billings in an innings of 35 balls in which he smashed six fours and a six.

.@rashidkhan_19 in the act one last time ????#HBLPSL8 | #SabSitarayHumaray | #LQvMS pic.twitter.com/uBqfcGTpJc

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 4, 2023

Billings smashed six fours and two sixes in his 35-ball 54 before he became Kieron Pollard’s second wicket. The all-rounder had caught and bowled Abdullah earlier. Anwar Ali, Ihsanullah and Abbas Afridi also took two wickets each.

Multan Sultans had a slow start to the run chase than they would have liked and they faced first blow in the seventh over when Shaheen took a brilliant catch to send back Shan Masood (19 off 20) off Zaman Khan. They sent in Usama Mir at one-drop, but that gamble did not pay off, as the leg-spinner could only muster 17 off 11 – hitting one six and a four.

Mohammad Rizwan was trapped in front by Sikandar Raza in the 10^th over, but the actual turning point came when Rashid dismissed Usama and David Miller in a span of four balls in the 11^th over. The leggie bowled Rilee Rossouw in his next over – 13^th of the innings – to reduce Multan Sultans to 87 for five.

Pollard did put up a show with the bat towards the end, but by then, it was all too late. The West Indian hit three sixes and two fours in his 39 off 28.

Rashid finished with incredible figures of three for 15 

 Match Stats

Lahore Qalandars Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Fakhar Zaman - 0.3 ov), 2-50 (Tahir Baig - 4.6 ov), 3-119 (Abdullah Shafique - 12.4 ov), 4-140 (Sam Billings - 14.4 ov), 5-146 (Sikandar Raza - 15.2 ov), 6-167 (Hussain Talat - 18.2 ov), 7-167 (Rashid Khan - 18.4 ov), 8-180 (Shaheen Afridi - 19.5 ov), 9-180 (Haris Rauf - 19.6 ov)

Multan Sultans Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Fakhar Zaman - 0.3 ov), 2-50 (Tahir Baig - 4.6 ov), 3-119 (Abdullah Shafique - 12.4 ov), 4-140 (Sam Billings - 14.4 ov), 5-146 (Sikandar Raza - 15.2 ov), 6-167 (Hussain Talat - 18.2 ov), 7-167 (Rashid Khan - 18.4 ov), 8-180 (Shaheen Afridi - 19.5 ov), 9-180 (Haris Rauf - 19.6 ov)

 

Playing XI

Lahore Qalandars: Tahir Baig, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Sam Billings(WK), Hussain Talat, Sikandar Raza, David Wiese, Shaheen Afridi(C), Rashid Khan, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan

Multan Sultans: , Mohammad Rizwan(WK/C), Shan Masood, Rilee Rossouw, David Miller, Kieron Pollard, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, Usama Mir, Sameen Gul, Abbas Afridi, Ihsanullah

Match Details:

Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 14:00

Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

Toss: Lahore Qalandars won the toss & elected to bat