LAHORE: Sikandar Raza ran off in celebration — punching the air in delight, his partner Kusal Perera in tow as fireworks exploded in the background. Lahore Qalandars were Pakistan Super League champions again, sealing their third title in four seasons after pulling off a remarkable chase.

Quetta Gladiators had been in the ascendancy in Sunday’s final, headed towards what they believed was their destiny — a second PSL crown — having clinched their first six long years ago. They had tightened the noose around the Qalandars, who, in their chase of 202, needed 57 runs to win off the last 20 deliveries when Raza joined Perera at the crease.

But the Qalandars found inspiration, as Gladiators lost theirs; Perera played a masterful knock of an unbeaten 31-ball 62 featuring four sixes and five fours, with Raza providing the ideal foil with 22 off seven balls to take their side home with a ball to spare. As their teammates ran onto the pitch in jubilation, the Gladiators sank to the ground, left wondering what could have been.

Raza, who had flown in from England after featuring for Zimbabwe in a four-day Test that only ended on Saturday and only arrived 10 minutes before the toss for the final, began the recovery when he deposited the first two balls he faced for a four and a six. The hits, both in the mid-wicket region, came immediately after Mohammad Amir had dismissed Bhanuka Rajapaksa to put the Gladiators on top.

Perera, Raza star in nerve-jangling last-over victory against Quetta Gladiators to seal third title in four seasons

Perera launched the offensive from the other end; the left-hander — who only came into the Qalandars’ side after the PSL was halted with eight games to go due to Pakistan-India skirmishes — hit Khurram Shahzad for two sixes and then punished Amir in the penultimate over for two fours and a slog-sweep for six.

That left Qalandars needing 13 off the final over and Raza came to the fore after Hasan Nawaz, who had earlier scored 76 for Gladiators, acrobatically saved a boundary. The Zimbabwean slashed an audacious six over point and then used his wrists to spark Qalandars’ celebrations in front of a partisan home crowd.

Qalandars skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi ran to lift Raza on his shoulders. The pacer — who was the pick of Lahore’s bowlers with 3-24 — had given his side the ideal start in the final when he dismissed his Gladiators counterpart Saud Shakeel early on. Saud’s opening partner Finn Allen departed in the third over, but Hasan checked Qalandar’s building momentum.

On the first six balls he faced, Hasan got two fours and a massive six over long-on. Rilee Roussow, at the other end, was also dealing in boundaries; his first three scoring shots being two fours and a pull off Haris Rauf for six. The left-hander then found joy on the off side, getting two fours in the sixth over by Salman, and the Gladiators ending the powerplay at 57-2. Rossouw, however, fell soon after, with Raza striking as the South African found Shaheen at short cover.

Losing his partner didn’t stop Hasan, though. Rishad Hossain was belted for two fours off the first three balls of the eighth over. Raza was then deposited for six in the next over before Hasan took Rishad to the cleaners in the 10th with 6, 4, 4 off the first three balls to raise his 50 off just 21 balls as Gladiators got to 100-3 at the midway point of their innings.

Avishka Fernando (29) hit five fours before becoming Rishad’s first victim, but Hasan — seemingly struggling with an injury — kept going on, using brute force to dispatch Raza over his head for six more and he got lucky when he was spilled by Fakhar Zaman two overs later.

Dinesh Chandimal chipped in with 22, hitting two sixes, before holing Shaheen to substitute Mohammad Azab on the second ball of the 18th over with Hasan’s 43-ball knock ending four deliveries later when he found Raza at wide long-on.

Haris returned to dismiss Amir and Abrar Ahmed as Gladiators seemed to crumble late on, but Faheem Ashraf (28 not out) pulled and flicked Salman for three sixes in the final over to take his side to 201-9.

Mohammad Naeem (46) got Qalandars off to a flier in their chase, bludgeoning Faheem for two sixes, but just when he was threatening to take it away from the Gladiators single-handedly, he saw his partner Fakhar trapped lbw by Abrar.

Naeem survived after Usman Tariq dropped a sitter and with Abdullah Shafique crunching a glorious late cut for four off Abrar, Qalandars reached 56-1 by the end of the powerplay. Naeem hit six sixes in his 27-ball innings, which ended when Faheem had him caught at deep square, bringing Perera to the crease.

Abdullah made 41 off 28 with four fours and a six, but after he top-edged Usman to be caught in the 13th over, the Gladiators seemed to have reined in the Qalandars, who needed 71 off the last five overs. Rajapaksa never got going, but his dismissal only paved the way for Qalandars’ stunning late charge.

Published in Dawn, May 26th, 2025