PSL Match Result: The PSL 2024 match 23 between Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United finished with a maiden win for Lahore Qalandars over Islamabad United by 17 runs at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Wednesday evening, March 06.
Finally, Lahore Qalandars registered their first win of this season, a bit too late perhaps, but a great all-round performance today against Islamabad United. Though Rassie (64 off 44 balls) was announced Player of the Match, Zaman Khan starred for Lahore with a match-winning spell of 4/37. Afridi (2/32) and Wiese (1/19) bowled clinically as their efforts brought them victory.
Islamabad’s top order failed to make any impact as they were 36-5 after the powerplay. Azam Khan (29 off 19 balls) and Naseem Shah (27 off 16 balls) tried to keep their side interested, but Lahore kept striking back with wickets. Faheem Ashraf (41 off 31 balls) kept fighting but ran out of partners at the other end.
After winning the toss, Islamabad United opted to bowl and asked Lahore Qalandars to put runs on the board. Qalandar’s batters started on the wrong foot as they were reduced to 32-3 after the 7th over due to the brilliant bowling spells by Naseem (1/30) and Raees (2/19) upfront. They were in desperate need of momentum, skipper Afridi promoted himself and his quick 30 off 14 balls helped the side to get off the blocks.
Rassie held one end and allowed himself to settle down while others batted around him. Then Wiese (24 off 11 balls) played a brilliant cameo at the end and helped Lahore conjure up 64 runs in the last five overs at the loss of two wickets. Therefore, Lahore Qalandars were able to set a decent target of 163 on the tricky pitch.
Islamabad United came in to chase this total with confidence accumulated from their previous games. However, Lahore’s Bowling ran over Islamabad’s batting lineup in the initial overs. Due to this, they lost half of their side at the score of 35 after the powerplay.
Then Azam Khan and Naseem Shah tried to keep their team in the game, but Lahore’s bowlers kept taking wickets regularly. Faheem Ashraf gave a little scare to Lahore for a while but ran out of partners in the end and lost the game which made the qualification scenario a little tricky for Islamabad United.