Lahore Qalandars won the PSL 2023 crown through a breath-taking match against Multan Sultans. They are now the PSL 2023 champions for the second time in history. As the game started delayed, it took late-night excitements on the pitch of Lahore’s home ground. However, the match saw a good clash between the two top teams.
PSL 2023 final:
The Pakistan Super League title was crowned by last year’s winners Lahore Qalandars again. They got the trophy defeating Multan Sultans by one run. The summit clash was scheduled for the 19th of March at the same venue, but the date changed due to the weather threat.
Multan Sultans reached the final after winning against the defending champions, Lahore Qalandars, by 84 runs in the first Qualifier. However, the Shaheen-led side smashed the topper of Eliminator 1, Peshawar Zalmi, by 4 wickets to fix their position in the final. Remarkably, the summit clash was a repeat of last year’s final. Having won seven games and three losses from their ten league matches, Lahore Qalandars are in first position in the PSL 2023 points table. On the other hand, Multan Sultans are placed in second place on the point chart with six victories and four losses.
Sultans skipper Rizwan created history in Qualifier 1. He completed 500 runs in just 11 innings. The man has scored 500+ runs in three consecutive seasons of the PSL and has become the first player to achieve this feat.
Earlier, Multan Sultans’ batsman Usman Khan made history by getting the fastest century in the league. He made a hundred from just 36 balls against Quetta Gladiators. Multan Sultans scored 262 in the same game, the highest total in history. They took down the record of the highest total made by Islamabad United, which had recorded 247/2 against Peshawar Zalmi in 2021.
The summary:
PSL 2023 Champion Lahore Qalandars got the chance to bat first, and Mirza Tahir Baig and Fakhar Zaman were the opening batters at the beginning. Baig scores 30 runes from 18 balls. He hit one over the boundary and four boundaries at a strike rate of 166.67. On the other side, Fakhar Zaman made 39 runs from 34 balls. Both of them got caught out on the field. Next came Abdullah Shafique, who played a brilliant inning of 65 runs from 40 balls at a strike rate of 162.50. But Anwar Ali got his wicket, a brilliant catch by Rilee Rossouw. Then Sam Billings came onto the ground and could not make his fans so cheer as he scored only nine runs from 8 balls. But he hit 1 six that was making hope.
The middle-order batting lineup for Lahore was less remarkable than Ahsan Bhatti, Sikandar Raza, and Sam Billings could not score many runs in the middle overs. However, the bowling lineup was power-packed at that time by the Sultans. On behalf of Sultans, Usama Mir picked three wickets for just 24 runs. Bowlers like Anwar Ali, Ihsanullah, and Khushdil Shah got single wickets in their names.
Rilee Rossouw showed his half-ton (52 runs) from 32 balls but unfortunately got picked by spinning legend Rashid Khan. Captain Mohammad Rizwan made 34 runs from 23 balls opening their half, and got out Rashid again, although it was a good catch by David Wiese. Khushdil made 25 runs from 12 balls, the third-highest run for the night for Multan Sultans. Pollard was not even able to bat up to the mark and scored only 19 runs from 16 balls and got out by Shaheen Afridi. Lahore skipper picked four wickets, giving 51 runs on the final pitch last night.
PSL 2023 Prize Money:
| Award | Winner | Prize Money |
| Winners | Lahore Qalandars | PKR 3 million (INR 12.74 lakh approx.) |
| Runners-up | Multan Sultans | PKR 3 million (INR 12.74 lakh approx.) |
| Batter of the tournament | Fakhar Zaman | PKR 3 million (INR 12.74 lakh approx.) |
| Bowler of the tournament | Shadab Khan | PKR 3 million (INR 12.74 lakh approx.) |
| Wicketkeeper of the tournament | Mohammad Rizwan | PKR 3 million (INR 12.74 lakh approx.) |
| Fielder of the tournament | Khushdil Shah | PKR 3 million (INR 12.74 lakh approx.) |
| All-rounder of the tournament | Khushdil Shah | PKR 3 million (INR 12.74 lakh approx.) |
| Spirit of cricket award | Mohammad Rizwan | PKR 3 million (INR 12.74 lakh approx.) |
| Emerging Player of the tournament | Zaman Khan | PKR 3 million (INR 12.74 lakh approx.) |
| Player of the Tournament | Mohammad Rizwan | PKR 3 million (INR 12.74 lakh approx.) |
Awards and trophies for PSL 2023 final:
- Player of the Tournament has been given to Ihsanullah from Multan Sultans.
- PSL 8 Best Batter award is given to Mohammad Rizwan from team Multan Sultans
- PSL 8 Best Fielder is given to Keiron Pollard
- PSL 8 Wicketkeeper trophy is also awarded to Mohammad Rizwan
- Abbas Afridi is awarded as the PSL 8 Best Emerging Player
- Imad Wasim received the PSL 8 All-Rounder
Last but not least, PSL 2023 champion skipper Shaheen Afridi grabbed the man of the match award at the end of the final match.
PSL winners & runner-ups from 2016 to 2023:
| Year | Winner | Runner Up | Venue |
| 2023 | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
| 2022 | Lahore Qalandars | Multan Sultans | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
| 2021 | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi |
| 2020 | Karachi Kings | Lahore Qalandars | National Stadium, Karachi |
| 2019 | Quetta Gladiators | Peshawar Zalmi | National Stadium, Karachi |
| 2018 | Islamabad United | Peshawar Zalmi | National Stadium, Karachi |
| 2017 | Peshawar Zalmi | Quetta Gladiators | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore |
| 2016 | Islamabad United | Quetta Gladiators | Dubai International Stadium, Dubai |
Wrap lines:
Finally, the PSL 2023 champion captain Shaheen Afridi thanked all the fans, supporters, and the almighty for supporting and blessing them while playing. He looked happy after the great back-to-back two years of victory. On the other hand, Rizwan also thanked the fans and was quite disappointed. However, the PSL finale match had its pressure
