Shahid Afridi had confessed his last wish of participating in the Pakistan Super League final, which will be played at Lahore. Shahid Afridi’s Peshawar Zalmi locked horns with Kevin Pietersen’s Quetta Gladiotors in front of a packed stadium at Sharjah. The showdown started off with Peshawar Zalmi winning the toss and putting the opposition in to bat.
From the outset Ahmed Shehzad looked belligerent, he was hitting sixes at will. Soon he was joined by Kevin Pietersen and the party started again.
The second wicket fell in the eleventh over with the score at a healthy 121. They were looking set to breach the 200 mark. They managed to end their innings at 200, Gladitors would have been happy with that, because at a certain point of time, they looked to march well past 200.
What a nail-biting end to this playoff! Gladiators winning it & making it to the semi-final! #PZvQG #HBLPSL #AbKhelJamayGa pic.twitter.com/f9WwaY0pim
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 28, 2017
We are still in shock! INCREDIBLE MOMENTS FROM THE PITCH RIGHT NOW! #PZvQG pic.twitter.com/1gN9KPXILa
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 28, 2017
With 201 for a victory, DJ Malan looked in good nick before departing for 56 off 30 balls. There was a small hiccup there, till Md. Hafeez and old warhorse Shaid Afridi came to the middle and they launched, it was still an achievable target, well within their grasp.
.@TeamQuetta pull off a stunning one run win in an incredible repeat of the #HBLPSL 2016 play-off what a stunning game #HBLPSL #PZvQG pic.twitter.com/d6VdU7sk6O
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 28, 2017
The two pros played in top gear till Hafeez finally departed with the score at 142, they were all set to reach the finals, but that is when they lost the plot. They started crumbling and without a notice they suddenly found looking down the barrel at 192 for six.
18.5 OUT! Anwar Ali to Shahid Afridi
watch https://t.co/fVtVzf1Qzn#PZvQG #HBLPSL #AbKhelJamayGa pic.twitter.com/Cg9lYjGmlX— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) February 28, 2017
Within no time, Hasan got his act together and ran through the line-up. They lost a total of nine wickets and found themselves 2 runs shy of booking themselves a flight to Lahore.
The team from Peshawar had made it to the finals in a nerve wrecking match. Shahid Afridi’s dream had been crushed and there was shock all around.
