LAHORE: Mirza Tahir Baig and Sam Billings made useful contributions to help defending champion Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi by four wickets in Eliminator 2 to book final berth at the Pakistan Super League 8 on Friday.
Lahore will face Multan Sultans in the final tomorrow.
Lahore Qalandars lost their most experienced player in Fakhar Zaman (six off five) in only the second over, but Tahir made sure that his side never got under pressure.
The right-hander stitched crucial partnerships worth 24 with debutant Ahsan Hafeez Bhatti (15 off 10), 31 with Abdullah Shafique (10 off 10) and 50 with Billings over the course of his maiden HBL PSL half-century. Tahir struck seven fours and two sixes.
After his dismissal, Billings and Sikandar made their experience count by adding 28 runs in a steady partnership to ensure Peshawar Zalmi bowlers could not bounce back, as they did last night against Islamabad United. The two batters fell in the 17th and 18th overs but they had done enough to make sure that their team went over the line. The finishing touches came off Shaheen Afridi’s bat as the Lahore Qalandars skipper struck a four and a six to take his side over the line.
The first half of the match was dominated by Mohammad Haris’ breath-taking strokeplay. The young attacking top-order batter smashed 85 off 54, which included 11 fours and two sixes, after arriving at the crease in only the second over.
Lahore Qalandars had defeated Multan Sultans last year to lift the HBL PSL 7 title.
Scores: Peshawar Zalmi 171-5, 20 overs (Mohammad Haris 85, Babar Azam 42, Bhanuka Rajapaksa 25; Zaman Khan 2-20, Rashid Khan 2-42) lost to Lahore Qalandars 176-6, 18.5 overs (Mirza Tahir Baig 54, Sam Billings 28, Sikandar Raza 23; Azmatullah Omarzai 2-31)
Player of the match: Mirza Tahir Baig (Lahore Qalandars)
