PSL 2025: Lahore Qalandars Win Third Title With Six-Wicket Final Victory Over Quetta Gladiators

Lahore Qalandars won their third Pakistan Super League title on 25 May 2025, beating Quetta Gladiators by 6 wickets in a dominant run chase at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Chasing Quetta's 201/9, Lahore knocked off the target in 19.5 overs — 204/4 — with Kusal Perera's unbeaten 62 off 31 balls as the centrepiece of the chase. The victory gave Lahore their third PSL title (2022, 2023, and now 2025), confirming their status as the competition's most successful franchise.

Kusal Perera: 62* off 31 Balls in the Final

Sri Lanka wicketkeeper-batter Kusal Perera anchored Lahore Qalandars' successful chase with a Player of the Match innings of 62 not out from 31 balls. Perera — one of the most destructive left-handed openers in white-ball cricket — provided the engine room for the chase at a strike rate of exactly 200. His innings came after Quetta posted a competitive 201/9, a total that most teams would find challenging at the Gaddafi Stadium under final conditions. Perera's ability to attack the powerplay while remaining unconquered through the middle overs gave Lahore a platform that their lower-middle order could build on to complete the chase with a ball to spare.

Shaheen Shah Afridi: History as Three-Time PSL Leading Wicket-Taker

Shaheen Shah Afridi finished PSL 2025 as the competition's leading wicket-taker with 19 wickets — making him the only bowler in PSL history to win the leading wicket-taker award in three separate editions. Afridi, Pakistan's left-arm fast bowler and arguably the best T20 bowler on the subcontinent in the 2020s, has used the PSL as the platform for his most consistent domestic T20 performances. His swing with the new ball and his ability to bowl attacking yorkers in the death overs have consistently produced wickets across multiple PSL seasons.

Tournament's Top Performers: Farhan and Hasan Nawaz

Sahibzada Farhan won the Hanif Mohammad Cap (tournament's leading run-scorer) with 449 runs in 12 matches, including one century and three fifties. Farhan — Pakistan's aggressive opener — has been one of the PSL's most consistent batting performers across multiple seasons, and his 449-run total in 2025 represented the consistency needed to top the batting charts across a full competition. Hasan Nawaz (Quetta Gladiators) was named Player of the Tournament despite being on the losing side in the final, with 399 runs in 10 innings reflecting a standout individual season.

Lahore Qalandars: PSL's Most Successful Franchise

Lahore Qalandars' 2025 title was their third PSL championship, following back-to-back titles in 2022 and 2023. The Qalandars were one of the PSL's original six franchises but endured five seasons without a title before their 2022 breakthrough. Their squad-building model — centred on retaining Pakistani core players like Shaheen Afridi and supplementing with high-quality international stars — has proven the most effective in the competition. No other PSL franchise has won three titles, and Lahore's consistency at the top of the table across PSL Seasons 7-10 establishes them as the competition's benchmark franchise.