Punjab Governor Baligh ur Rehman met Lahore Qalandars' CEO Atif Rana today to congratulate him on his team's back-to-back Pakistan Super League (PSL) titles.
In their meeting, the two discussed the success of Qalandars in the PSL. This year, Qalandars became the first team to defend the PSL title.
Meanwhile, the Governor praised Qalandars' Player Development Program (PDP).
"Your PDP has unearthed a lot of talented youngsters. They got a great opportunity to show their talent and shine on biggest level," Rehman said.
"I would like you to extend your PDP program and establish a High-Performance Centre in South Punjab. There is a lot of talent there who needs such a platform," the Governor told Qalandars' CEO.
In reply, Rana assured that Qalandars will soon launch a talent hunt program in South Punjab.
Qalandars defeated Multan Sultans after a thrilling clash in the final of the PSL season eight at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on March 18.
Chasing a daunting target of 201 runs, Sultans came close and lost the match by only one run.
Qalandars became the first team to successfully defend the PSL title.
During the run-chase, David Wiese provided the breakthrough in the fourth over of the innings after dismissing opener Usman Khan. The right-hander scored 18 runs in 12 balls.
Despite the early loss, Multan ensured that they kept up with the require run-rate as Rilee Rossouw and Mohammad Rizwan stitched an impressive partnership of 64 runs in 42 balls.
However, Rossouw was cleaned up by Rashid Khan just when the batter threatened to take the game away from Lahore. The South African scored 52 runs in 32 balls.
Rashid struck once again in his last over as Rizwan, 34 off 23, perished while trying to clear the long-on boundary. It took a brilliant bit of fielding from David Wiese who caught the ball, kept his balance and then flicked the ball back in the air as he stepped over the rope before reestablishing himself back inside the boundary to complete the catch.
Shaheen, who conceded 34 runs in his first two overs, came back in his second spell to clinch the wicket of the dangerous Kieron Pollard. The Windies all-rounder scored 19 runs in 16 balls.
Shaheen also bagged three wickets in his final over to put Lahore in a strong position to win the match.
However, Haris Rauf conceded 22 runs in the penultimate over to ensure a thrilling finish to the match.
But Zaman Khan held his nerve to get his team over the line in the final over of the match.
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