5.48 pm Here's what you need to know about the final game in just a while from now. To qualify for the semis ahead of Peshawar Zalmi, the Quetta Gladiators will need to win by a margin of 145 runs or thereabouts. It doesn't happen often, but do stay with ESPNcricinfo to find out if they can engineer this minor miracle. For the moment, this is Debayan Sen, bidding you a fond farewell on behalf of Peter Della Penna and all the other colleagues around the world involved in covering these last few games of the Pakistan Super League. Stay safe, take care, and hope to see you sometime soon.
Sohail Akhtar speaks next: "We had confidence in our players, and credit goes to the management for never giving up. The first 14-15 overs were outstanding, but we bowled poorly at the death. We have a couple of days to set these things right. We hope to play positive cricket (against Karachi in the semis) and keep up with this positive momentum that we have built up.
Shan Masood on the changes first: "We had to look out for the senior players in the squad. If we make the final, that will be the fourth game in three days. Rohail played a good innings, and we have some backups for the big games now. One way of looking at it is that we got that one loss out of the way. We have assesed the conditions, because we will play the day game (in the semi-finals). Our partnership was good, and getting to 180+ was a good effort. Hopefully, we can given Peshawar a tough time."
5.40 pm Time for the match presentation. Chris Lynn is the Man of the Match. Speaks to the broadcasters: "It's great to get triple figures. I love playing in the day, but it was important to get to that semi-finals after five years of trying. It was difficult (playing in an empty stadium) but you have to create your own energy when fielding. We got some momentum with the bat, and just kept it going. Obviously, I love opening. Some days it comes off, other days it doesn't. I have played quite a bit in the subcontinent. Quite a bit in the IPL, but first time in Pakistan. My team-mates are awesome. They have given me a lot of support, and getting some wins under the belt is good."
Alric : "This Lahore team is one for the history books. One of the most complete t20 teams ever. Explosive openers, smart captain, experienced foreign all rounders, superb talented Pakistani seamers. All they're lacking is a Pakistani batsman who can guide the ship when in trouble, someone like a Babar Azam. But nevertheless, what a tournament they've had so far. Hope they can go all the way and win the cup. Come on Lahore Qalandars " ---- This was definitely a complete performance, but the knockouts bring with them their own pressure. If they can maintain their level of performance from today, they would be in with a big chance, no doubt.
Edmund Thomas: "Debayan, is it mathematically impossible for Quetta to qualify now, even with a colossal win?" --- My mistake to have said that. Quetta have a chance, of course, as they can pull level with Peshawar with a win. It will boil down to net run rate then, where they are about one point behind Peshawar. By my calculations, I would say a win by 20 runs or more (or equivalent if they are bowling first) should do for them. I could be wrong, of course. Will leave it to the stats gurus we have to decode that. But this does make the last match a cracker.
Here's Fakhar Zaman speaking on the broadcast: "It's a little hard to believe, because we have always finished at the bottom. This year, the management put together a 40-day camp at the start, and looks like that has come good. This was a great batting wicket, easy for batsmen, and when you get a good partnership, it becomes easy. The target was stiff, but once we got that opening partnership, it looked easy. He (Lynn) batted really well. I also try to give him as much strike as possible, because he makes it look quite easy. He's an extraordinary talent who can take the game away from the opposition."
5.28 pm Chris Lynn mauls the Multan bowling attack to set up a semi-final date for Lahore Qalandars with Karachi Kings. Lynn finishes with 113 off 55 balls, with a dozen fours and eight sixes. Of course, to put it in context, Multan did rest a lot of their big guns, but this nevertheless has been a special show by the Australian. Got some great support early on from Fakhar Zaman, and then Sohail Akhtar played a steady hand to keep him company.
Just two to win now
Khalid Mahmood: "Seems world is coming to an end as Lahore are about to qualify in PSL."
END OF OVER:18 | 4 Runs | LQ: 177/1 (10 runs required from 12 balls, RR: 9.83, RRR: 5.00)
- Chris Lynn100 (52b)
- Sohail Akhtar18 (21b)
- Junaid Khan4-0-36-0
- Bilawal Bhatti3-0-41-0
Qamar : "Anything in 180s, Lahore chasing this PSL. Karachi, Peshawar and now Multan"
My colleague Venkat Raghav tells me these are top scores for Lahore
Sajith : "why is it that whatever team Lynn plays for are so unpredictably dangerous and the team nobody wants to play in a knockout game from the heat to Lahore...Guess his teams reflect the style of his captaincy!"
END OF OVER:17 | 16 Runs | LQ: 173/1 (14 runs required from 18 balls, RR: 10.17, RRR: 4.66)
- Chris Lynn98 (48b)
- Sohail Akhtar16 (19b)
- Bilawal Bhatti3-0-41-0
- Junaid Khan3-0-32-0
Between overs, Aqib Javed was joking around about how Lahore might need to build statues of Lynn and Dunk the way they have played. Lynn today has definitely been sublime
Sohail Akhtar, incidentally, has a 100 for Lahore Qalandars, but that was against Yorkshire at the Abu Dhabi Trophy
Shahzaib : "A century from Lynn will boost the confidence of whole LQ team to the next level for finals. First century from a Qalandar? Yes please!" ---- Bharath Seervi tells me that this would indeed be the first PSL ton for a Qalandar player