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The Qalandars chase a record target of 202 against the Gladiators as Raza returns from Test duty to hit the winning runs.
All-rounder Sikandar Raza has written his name in Pakistan cricket folklore after hitting the match-winning six as the Lahore Qalandars beat the Quetta Gladiators by six wickets to win the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2025 final at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Raza, who was part of Zimbabwe’s Test team until Saturday afternoon, joined the Qalandars’ playing XI 10 minutes prior to the toss for the final on Sunday evening in Pakistan’s eastern metropolis.
The Pakistan-born off-break bowler and lower-middle-order batter took one wicket and scored 22 runs off seven balls as Lahore chased a target of 202 with one ball to spare.
Lahore’s run chase was largely built around Kusal Perera’s 62 runs, with support from top-order batters Mohammad Naeem and Abdullah Shafique, but it was Raza’s whirlwind journey from the United Kingdom to Pakistan and his subsequent role in hitting the winning runs that stole the show and Lahori hearts.
The 39-year-old recounted his last 24 hours by saying he had “dinner in Birmingham, breakfast in Dubai, lunch in Abu Dhabi and flew straight to Lahore for the PSL final”.
Raza bowled 25 overs in the Test on Friday and batted for 20-plus overs on Saturday before leaving for Pakistan.
“To have a victory like this, I just have no words,” he said after the match.
The hosts finished on 204-4 from 19.5 overs to lift their third PSL trophy in four years, making Shaheen Shah Afridi the only captain to win three PSL titles.
Earlier, Quetta posted a formidable total of 201-9 in their 20 overs as young batter Hasan Nawaz scored 76 runs off 43 balls and Faheem Ashraf cracked three sixes and two fours in an innings of 28 off eight balls.
Afridi was the pick of the Lahore bowlers, taking 3-24 in his four overs.
Perera was named player of the match for his instrumental innings that kept Lahore in the match until the last over.
Meanwhile, Nawaz was named player of the tournament for amassing 399 runs in the competition.
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