Lahore Qalandars finally won their maiden Pakistan Super League (PSL) title on Sunday, beating defending champions Multan Sultans.
Soon after Lahore lifted the PSL trophy, people took to social media to congratulate Fawad Rana, whose name is often associated with the franchise, and missed his presence in the stadium.
Have a look at some of the tweets:
Twitter was flooded with congratulatory messages for the winning team, Lahore Qalandars.
Federal Minister for Communications Murad Saeed on Sunday served a legal notice to Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan’s former wife, Reham Khan.
Saeed has said that Reham has hurled false allegations against him and done dirty propaganda in her book, “Reham Khan (memoir)“.
Saeed asked for an unconditional apology from Reham within 14 days; otherwise, a defamation suit of Rs1 billion will be filed against her, reports Dawn.
“Tender apology within 14 days from this notice otherwise the court will be requested for her stern punishment and Rs1 billion damages,” said the official announcement.
The news outlet also reports that the minister did not mention the name of Reham Khan while addressing her in the press release.
“Your book was used as a reference for launching malicious propaganda and false allegations,” read the press release.
Last week, Murad Saeed, during a meeting held in the presence of the premier, said that he would file a lawsuit against Reham in London for writing “offensive content” against the prime minister. “Posting false content should be stopped,” he added.
However, PM Khan advised Saeed “not to worry about such matters and focus on his performance as the Opposition is worried these days.”
Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Sunday began to march towards the federal capital.
“You [people of the country] have heralded a war and let me tell you that Islamabad is trembling,” he said to the crowd.
Chairman Bilawal said that Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan asks people not to worry due to price-hike, unemployment, poverty, and crises of gas, water, and fertiliser. Now, the time has come for the PM to start worrying.
“The puppet is frightened of the Jiyalas so he has sent a few of his ministers to defend him but this selected party is a coterie of political orphans,” said an official statement released by the party.
“Imran Khan has lost the confidence of the people and it is about time that he loses the confidence of the parliament too. The no-confidence motion will expose who is with the people and who is with the selected Imran Khan. We believe that the people will be victorious.”
“This storm of public anger against Niazi and his government is just the beginning of what lies ahead. From now onwards for the next 10 days, people from across the country would send him messages of their sentiments and make a countdown. It’s a beginning. It’s a beginning of an end. It’s the beginning of a new era. It’s a beginning of a realization [prevailing] among the masses that how their dreams were snatched over the last three years and their hopes were stolen in the name of change.”
PPP released a charter of demands, “Why We March”.
“We march to realise your dreams, aspirations, dignity, self-respect, and prosperity. We fight to heal the wounds inflicted by this regime, heal our society, heal our country. The people of Pakistan shall not be enslaved, they will not be defeated.”
The PPP caravan would cover 2,000kms and pass through 35 cities to reach Islamabad on March 10.
Pakistan Super League (PSL) ended with Lahore Qalandars finally winning their maiden PSL trophy, beating defending champions Multan Sultans with 42 runs on Sunday at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Lahore had handed Multan a stiff 181-run target and the team was at their best both with the ball as well as in the field.
Captain of Multan Sultans Mohammad Rizwan managed to get 14 off 12 balls while Shan Masood, 19 off 15, was run out by Qalandars’ Fakhar Zaman.
Khushdil Shah and Tim David smashed some boundaries, but they had a huge task against a world-class bowling attack of Lahore.
Sultans lost wickets at regular intervals and after that David Willey, Imran Tahir, Rumman Raees were removed in a wink of an eye, as Tahir was the last man to go when Haris Rauf took a great catch.
Sultans only managed to reach 138 runs with all wickets fallen.
Among the bowlers, Shaheen Shah Afridi took three, Mohammad Hafeez and Zaman Khan two, while David Wiese and Rauf one.
Hafeez bagged Player of the Match award for his 46-ball 69.
Twitter was flooded with congratulatory messages for the winning team of PSL 7, Lahore Qalandars. Notables including Prime Minister Imran Khan, President Dr Arif Alvi, Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar and several others took to Twitter to congratulate the team.
Earlier, PM Khan had also predicted that Lahore Qalandars can win PSL 7 trophy.
Taking to Twitter, Shaheen wrote: “The wait of 7 long years has finally ended. We are PSL champions, Alhumdulillah.”
“Grateful to every single player, coaches, owners, staff and super fans for your belief. You made it possible. @iMRizwanPak bhai & @MultanSultans, you fought like champions,” he added.
Reports of Rashid Khan coming back to Pakistan and representing Lahore Qalandars in the final of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 7 were circulating on social media on Friday. The Afghan star player opened up about it and clarified that he would not be available due to “national duty”.
Taking to Twitter, Rashid Khan wrote: ”It would’ve been great to be part of Lahore Qalandars and play alongside lads in the PSL T20 final.”
“I won’t be able to make it for the finals due to National Duty which is always a first priority,” he added.
He extended best wishes for Lahore Qalandars’ skipper Shaheen Afridi, Sameen Rana and the team.
On February 20, the Qalandars’ right-arm spinner had left the PSL franchise to join his national squad for the ODI and T20I series against Bangladesh.
He had received a befitting farewell from his teammates and from Qalandars’ skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi.
It is pertinent to mention here that the defending champions Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars will lock horns on Sunday for the PSL title.
Andrey Rublev, a Russian tennis player, offered his thoughs on Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine by writing ‘No War Please’ on a camera after reaching the final of this year’s Dubai Tennis Championships on Friday.
The 24-year-old defeated Hubert Hurkacz in their semi-final meeting and will face either Jiri Vesely or Denis Shapovalov for the coveted trophy later this week.
Rublev went on to write the message on a nearby camera in the immediate aftermath of his victory in a public display of support for peace in the aftermath of Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ukraine was invaded by Russian troops in the early hours of Thursday morning after weeks of tension between the two nations, which finally escalated into a full-scale military operation.
Rublev’s gesture comes after he initially weighed in on the situation in Ukraine following his quarter-final win over Mackenzie McDonald earlier this week.
“In these moments you realise that my match is not important. It’s not about my match, how it affects me,” he said.
“What’s happening [in Ukraine] is much more terrible. You realise how important it is to have peace in the world and to respect each other no matter what, to be united.”
Mohammad Zubair, Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and spokesperson for party supremo Nawaz Sharif and Maryam Nawaz, said that it could not be the PML-N’s priority to hand over the Chief Minister (CM) seat to Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi in Punjab.
Speaking on Geo News programme ‘Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Kay Sath’, Zubair said, “There are still many things that have yet to be agreed upon.”
“Discussing the option of handing over CM Punjab portfolio to Pervaiz Elahi doesn’t mean that the PML-N leadership has decided on this,” said Zubair.
“Ousting the incumbent government is in the interest of the country and we [Opposition] are completely agreed on it,” said the PML-N spokesperson.
Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) leader Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain has said that in the meetings with former President Asif Ali Zardari, Chief of Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and Leader of the Opposition Shehbaz Sharif, several things were discussed and shall be revealed at the right time.
Shujaat also said that poor people would stop trusting politicians if they were just busy in political meetings. Economic conditions should be given utmost importance.
Earlier it was reported that the Chaudhry brothers presented their Charter of Demands to Zardari.
The PML-Q has asked the Opposition for the Chief Ministership in Punjab and stated that no compromise will be made on anything less than that.
In case of getting Chief Ministership, the PML-Q has assured the success of in-house transformation in Punjab and Centre.
After David Wiese’s all-round performance last night in the Eliminator 2 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022, Twitter is flooded with praises for the South African-born Namibian cricketer.
Wiese produced a sensational performance in the final overs of each of the two innings of the PSL 7 Eliminator 2 against Islamabad United in front of a packed to capacity Lahore crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday night to guide his side to a six-run win and a place in the PSL 7 final.
Weise turned the game on its head with the bat as he scored 26 runs off the final over of the Qalandars innings bowled by Waqas Maqsood. Waqas also conceded a wide, leaking 27 runs in the over as Qalandars went from a seemingly below-par 141 for seven to 168 for seven total in a matter of six balls.
Weise remained undefeated with his explosive 28 off eight.
The Qalandars all-rounder then conceded just one run off the four balls of the final over he bowled as Mohammad Wasim Jnr was run out and Waqas brilliantly caught in the deep by Abdullah Shafique as United were bowled out for 162 with two balls to spare.
The whole crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore was chanting David Wiese’s name after his prolific all-round performance. Twitter too demanded an underpass in his name.
One of the Twitter users named Liberty roundabout of Lahore after David Wiese.
Wiese bagged Player of the Match award for his outstanding performance.
In post-match ceremony, he said: “That was an unbelievable game and unbelievable team effort. Fortunately it came off for me and I landed a couple of yorkers. It was meant to be. This game had everything. So many emotions out there. Thanks to the fans for coming out and supporting us.”
He also took to Twitter to thank his fans for the support.
Shaheen Shah Afridi took to Twitter to laud the team and efforts of players including Wiese, saying: “Absolutely fantastic display of team work, grit & determination. Special shout out to @David_Wiese, @HarisRauf14, @imabd28 & @ZamanKhanPak.”
He added: “Come on guys, just one more game to go & I want you to enjoy every bit of it. #MeHoonQalandar #DilSe.”
Lahore is set to play the final game against defending champions Multan Sultans on Sunday, February 27.
Former Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi has lauded Lahore Qalandars’ skipper Shaheen Shah Afridi for a “great display of captaincy” after Qalandars reached the final of the seventh edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
On Friday, David Wiese’s last-over heroics at the Gaddafi Stadium against Islamabad United took Qalandars to a six-run victory in the second eliminator of the tournament.
The do-or-die match between the two sides was a treat to the eye as both the teams fought for the slot in the final till the last moment.
Taking to Twitter, Boom Boom Afridi posted photos of him watching the match between Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United along with his friends.
“Today I witnessed one of the best matches in the PSL history. Congratulations Lahore Qalandars on a well-deserved win!”
Afridi also hailed Shaheen’s captaincy throughout the PSL 7 and wished good luck to the finalists.
“Great display of captaincy by Shaheen throughout the tournament. Good luck to both of the finalist teams,” he wrote.
Defending champions Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars will lock horns on Sunday for PSL 7 title.
Earlier in December, Afridi had said that Shaheen did not pay heed to his advice regarding accepting the leadership role.
Afridi had said: “I had advised Shaheen to wait for a year or two before accepting captaincy so that he can focus more on his bowling. But since he is also an Afridi, he didn’t listen to me.”
“Having said that, I’m happy that he has decided to accept this responsibility and I hope that he proves me wrong,” the former skipper had said.
Sultan’s skipper Mohammad Rizwan also congratulated Shaheen for reaching the Final.
“What a thriller it was! Enjoyed every second of it. Congratulations @iShaheenAfridi & @lahoreqalandars for finals. You put everything into this,” he wrote.
While commenting on Shadab Khan, he added: “@76Shadabkhan & @IsbUnited, keep your head high. I know k aap Himmat nahi haare ga (I know you will not lose hope) and will come back stronger. #LevelHai #PSL7.”
Defending champions of Pakistan Super League (PSL), Multan Sultans, have gained a lot of praise for their commendable cricket under the leadership of wicket-keeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan. Former Pakistan cricketer Mushtaq Ahmed has said Rizwan’s leadership qualities are just like former Pakistan captain and Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan.
Talking to Cricket Pakistan in an interview, Sultans’ assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmed addressed their remarkable win-ratio in PSL 7. He said that the credit lies entirely with the Almighty and the players for their efforts.
“One of the most important things when it comes to winning is the leadership quality and Rizwan is a great leader. He keeps everyone in loop and works with the players to execute the game plans,” he said.
When inquired about whether the change in captaincy was the turning point for Sultans, Ahmed said that there are many more factors at play than just the captaincy.
“There are a lot of factors which come into play and you just don’t focus on one element; for the players to trust their captain, the chemistry between the players and the captain. When players respect you as a captain or as a coach, they will automatically give more value to your opinions and will try to carry out the plans,” he explained.
“I remember when I conceded 70-odd runs in Brisbane and Imran bhai came up to me and backed me for trying my level best. I think it is important to back your players as a leader because it gives you the desire to go out there and prove their belief in you. Rizwan is exactly this way and his leadership is a huge positive,” concluded Mushtaq.
The team has won 10 out 11 matches they have played in PSL 7 and qualified for the Final.