Champions to be crowned as Lahore, Quetta face off in PSL final today
KARACHI: Defending champions Lahore Qalandars will face 2019 winners Quetta Gladiators in the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) today, Sunday, with both sides aiming to make history in the tenth edition of the country's premier T20 tournament.
The final will be played under lights at Lahore's Qaddafi Stadium, with the match set to begin at 7:30 p.m. local time. A reserve day has been scheduled for Monday in case of rain.
The winner will walk away with $500,000 in prize money, while the runners-up will receive $200,000.
Either the Shaheen Shah Afridi-led Qalandars will become only the second team in PSL history to win three titles, or the Saud Shakeel-led Gladiators will lift their second trophy after a six-year gap.
Qalandars fought their way into the final through the playoffs, knocking out Karachi Kings and Islamabad United, while Quetta topped the points table and beat Islamabad in the qualifier to book their spot.
'I'm thrilled and honored to be leading Quetta Gladiators to an HBL PSL final and we will do our best to lift the trophy,' Shakeel said. 'Qaddafi Stadium really has been a lucky venue for us where we have won five out of our six games and will look to continue the winning momentum.'
Afridi said Lahore were aiming for a title hat trick on home turf.
'We are buzzing to feature in our third HBL PSL final in the last four editions and our aim is to complete the treble at our home ground,' he said.
Lahore, who finished fourth in the group stage, will take confidence from their previous outing against Quetta, where they secured a commanding 79-run win before their second encounter was washed out.
Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Naeem have led the charge with the bat for Qalandars, while Shaheen, Haris Rauf and Rishad Hossain have spearheaded the bowling attack.
Quetta, meanwhile, have enjoyed a dramatic turnaround after finishing last in 2023.
Their success this season has been fueled by consistent performances from Hasan Nawaz, Rilee Rossouw and a bowling unit featuring Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf and Mohammad Amir.
Both captains promised a highly competitive final to close out what has been a landmark 34-match edition of the HBL PSL.
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