Earlier last month, the Quetta Gladiators became lucky enough to win the title of champions at the 2019 HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) final. They defeated Peshawar Zalmi in Karachi by 8 wickets. Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side has been the returning attendants, since the inauguration of the PSL back in 2016. They were defeated in the first two finals and then excited in the contest during the third match.
The competition has been tough to argue because the Gladiators were not the outstanding side in the competition’s fourth season. They would have finished second in the points table behind their opponents in the final. But then again, this was their fourth win out of the four matches against Peshawar this season. This might have felt like a long time coming, but Quetta probably did, in fact, deserve to be the winners.
In the last match, Peshawar Zalmi had won against the Karachi Kings by 61 runs at the National Stadium in Karachi and moved on top of the table with 14 points. The Quetta Gladiators were behind them, who also obtained 14 points and came down to second place on the table. Islamabad United, who were defending champions, were placed third with ten points, while the Karachi Kings came in fourth with ten points. The remaining two teams which included the Lahore Qalandars and Multan Sultans failed to qualify for the playoffs. Both teams had secured six points each. The Qalandars were placed in the fifth position, while the Sultans were at the bottom, positioning themselves in sixth place.
For the closing ceremony of the final, the guest of honour Carlos Puyol, the former Barcelona and Spain football captain, had stated: “I know people here love cricket, but they also love football as well,” this did not quite reason out exactly what he was doing there.
Sarfaraz Ahmed said: “I thank the public for coming and people have also sent a clear message that Pakistan loves cricket.”
Tauseef Asif
