England to glory: Sikandar Raza has breakfast in Dubai, lunch in Abu Dhabi and PSL title in Lahore

Lahore: Zimbabwe all-rounder Sikandar Raza flew in from England, arrived just 10 minutes before the toss, and went on to help Lahore Qalandars clinch their third Pakistan Super League title in four years.

Lahore pulled off a record run chase on Sunday, beating Quetta Gladiators by six wickets with a ball to spare in a thrilling final.

Raza had played in a Test match against England at Nottingham—an innings defeat for Zimbabwe—on Saturday. Less than 24 hours later, he played a pivotal role in Lahore’s dramatic win.

He scored an unbeaten 22 off just seven balls, while Kusal Perera anchored the innings with a blistering 62 not out off 31 deliveries as Lahore reached 204-4 in 19.5 overs, chasing Quetta’s 201-9.

Mystery spinners Abrar Ahmed (1-27) and Usman Tariq (1-38) had put the squeeze on Lahore. When Raza arrived, the hosts still needed 57 runs from the final 20 balls.

But the 38-year-old showed no signs of fatigue from his long journey. He smashed Mohammad Amir for a four and a six off the first two balls he faced. With eight runs needed from Faheem Ashraf’s final three balls, Raza lofted a six over point and then struck the winning boundary wide of mid-on.

Earlier, Pakistan’s rising T20 talent Hasan Nawaz hammered 76 off 43 balls, while Faheem Ashraf added a fiery 28. Ashraf took 23 off the final over from Salman Mirza to push Quetta past the 200-run mark after electing to bat.

Coming in at 21-2, Nawaz added 67 for the fourth wicket with Avishka Fernando (29) and another 46 with Dinesh Chandimal (22) to steady the ship.

Lahore captain Shaheen Shah Afridi (3-24) and Haris Rauf (2-41) had dented Quetta’s momentum in the death overs, taking four wickets for just two runs. But Ashraf’s late blitz kept Quetta in the hunt for their first PSL title since 2019—until Raza stole the show.

Lahore, champions in 2022 and 2023, have now equalled Islamabad United’s record of three PSL titles.

Raza said it was unbelievable to reach Lahore and achieve success. “It is unbelievable, batted for 40-odd overs in the Test, flew to Dubai where I had breakfast and then lunch in Abu Dhabi and arrived minutes from the toss, so it’s incredible,” he said.