So one of the most entertaining cricket leagues around the world has finished and we witnessed a great tournament all around. Finally, Lahore Qalandars have clinched their 1st ever title in the 7th year and it came under the captaincy of Shaheen Afridi. HBL PSL 2022 is the only league in the world where every team has won at least one title in 7 years and that's should sum up the competitiveness.
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| Champions of HBL PSL 2022 |
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So let's talk deeply about the final.
A Great toss to win
We all know that toss always has a big impact in crucial and pressure games and it went to Lahore Qalandars which was a great toss to win and proved a deciding factor at the end. Yes, the bowlers of Multan Sultans did really well in the power play and reduced them at 25/3 including the big wicket of inform and the pillar of Lahore's batting line up Fakhar Zaman. But after that, the man with 20 years of experience came to the rescue and did a great job in the all-important final. His bat was completely silent since 2020 and he wasn't having a good season till that point but that was just a matter of time.I think Rizwan missed a trick there he could have easily gone to Dahani with extra pace but he didn't and that's allowed Hafeez to settle and to get some momentum in the innings. T20 cricket is all about momentum and if picked that in the final then you are way ahead of the opposition.
Multan exposed in a crucial game
Multan has played some serious cricket since last year's Abu Dhabi leg of PSL and they looked like a great team to defend the title. But right from the start they were having issues with their bowling lineup, yes they bowled brilliantly throughout the tournament but that was their spinners who stole the games in middle overs. Imran Tahir and Khushdil Shah were great they haven't only put breaks on the score but also got wickets but you can see the difference in the final. Hafeez took Khushdil Shah to the cleaners and didn't give a wicket to Imran and that's built a great plate form of acceleration for their big hitters. Willy and Raees were almost the same types of bowlers and then Dahani with extra pace means some time and extra destruction. He was not in great form but bowled a match-winning spell in 1st qualifier against Lahore. When Hafeez and Harry Brook picked the momentum and put their feet on the accelerator then Multan's bowlers got under pressure almost 1st time in the tournament. Then David Wiese came with all guns blazing and put a great total on the board for the final. They just toyed with their bowling line and length which was length bowling at the pace of 130 which was bread and butter for them. They scored 87 runs in the last 6 overs and the target was 180 but the main thing was that momentum shifted completely and that was Lahore's game to lose.
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| Mohammad Hafeez |
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Good Batsmen win you matches but good bowlers win you tournaments.
Bowling has been the strength of Lahore Qalandars and luckily they were playing at their strength.180 in the final is a tough ask on any wicket against any bowling line up and if it is against Shaheen, Haris and Zaman then it gets tougher. Sometimes Multan batters struggled in power play and they were heavily dependent on Rossouw, Tim David, and Khushdil and the story repeated once again. After 9 overs they were 55/4 and the required rate was 12 for the rest of the overs which was not an easy task against the bowling lineup of Lahore. The required rate kept climbing up and that resulted in wickets in regular intervals and they sealed the game with 42 runs which is a huge margin. Shaheen Shah Afridi led the team beautifully and finally turned the table for Lahore.
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| Shaheen Shah Afridi |
Now the trend is changing a bit because fast bowlers as captains were never a great deal but it is turning with Shaheen and Wahab in HBL PSL and one of the greatest bowlers in history the Aussies Captain Pat Cummins.
So it is their moment and they can enjoy it as long as they want but the other good news is Australia has arrived in Pakistan after 24 years. So it is time to wear the National colour and to play against the best in the business. So the 1st test will start on 4th March in Rawalpindi.
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