Pakistan Super League 2023 news: The 28th match of PSL 2023 between Quetta Gladiators and Multan Sultans at Rawalpindi on Saturday, turned out to be a memorable clash for cricket fans all over the world, especially for Multan's young pacer Abbas Afridi.
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Multan Sultans pacer Abbas Afridi picked up a sensational five-wicket haul during the high-octane thriller. He picked 5 wickets for 47 runs, including a hat-trick to attain a rare feat in Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Abbas ended up taking the first hat-trick by any bowler in this year's PSL. It was his magical spell which helped Multan defeat Quetta by 9 runs in a high-scoring thriller. Quetta Gladiators, after this defeat, are out of PSL 2023's playoff race.
Batting first, Multan Sultans rode on Usman Khan's blistering 43-balls 120-run innings to post a mammoth total of 262/3 on board. In reply, Quetta were bowled out for 253 runs for loss of 8 wickets in the stipulated 20 overs, courtesy of Abbas Afridi's fiery fifer.
The young pacer dismissed Mohammad Nawaz, Umaid Asif and Umar Akmal during his hat-trick, taking wickets on fifth and sixth balls of 17th over. Abbas completed his hat-trick by taking a wicket on the first ball of the 19th over, which was the deciding factor in Multan's morale-boosting 9-run win.
Abbas Afridi is the nephew of ex-Pakistan pacer Umar Gul. Interestingly, Abbas scored a hat-trick in PSL against the Quetta Gladiators, the team whose bowling coach is none other than his uncle Umar Gul.
The qualifiers, two eliminators and the final match of PSL will be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. PSL 2023 qualifier will be played on March 15, Eliminator 1 on March 16, Eliminator 2 on 17th March and final on 19th March.