Lahore Qalandars won their third Pakistan Super League title last week when they defeated Quetta Gladiators in the final. However, an interesting video has surfaced from the post-match celebrations in the dressing room, where Shaheen Afridi is seen addressing the team. In a now-viral video, captain Afridi stood in front of his jubilant players in the dressing room and made an unexpected announcement: “This time, everyone’s getting an iPhone.”
The declaration triggered a full-blown celebration, with cheers and jumps from a squad already on a high after clinching the trophy with a six-wicket win. The surprise wasn’t just the phones themselves, but the sudden shift from tradition. Until now, Lahore had been handing out an iPhone only to the dressing room’s chosen ‘Player of the Match’ after each game. But after wrapping up a third title in four years, Afridi threw that playbook out.
Watch:
The fans were also intrigued with the reaction:
Qalandars’ 202-run chase, the highest-ever in a PSL final, was orchestrated by Kusal Perera’s unbeaten 62, with strong support from youngsters Mohammad Naeem (46) and Abdullah Shafique (41). The game came down to the last over, but Sikandar Raza, who had landed in Lahore only ten minutes before the toss, coolly finished it off with a six and a four in the final moments.
Lahore sealed their third title following triumphs in 2022 and 2023.
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.
Hasan Nawaz scored a brilliant 76 to lift Quetta to 201-9 after they won the toss and batted. 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 skipper Shaheen Afridi was the pick of their bowlers with figures of 3/24.
It was Faheem Ashraf (28) who lifted Quetta past 200, taking 23 off the last Salman Mirza over. The six-team PSL was suspended on May 9 following the conflict between India and Pakistan. However, the league resumed on May 17 after a ceasefire between the two countries.