Shaheen Afridi’s Qalandars Face Penalty in PSL (Source: AP Photos)
Lahore Qalandars went up against David Warner’s Karachi Kings in match number six of the PSL 2026 season. A match between the two unbeaten sides of the tournament, the Qalandars lost out in a low-scoring thriller under the most dramatic circumstances.
As it happened, the Karachi Kings was handed five penalty runs before the final over of the innings, a decisive swing that ultimately proved the difference between the two sides in a tightly-contested finish.
Shaheen Afridi’s Lahore Qalandars slapped with ball-tampering penalty
Lahore Qalandars kept Karachi Kings down for a major part of their 129-run defense at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium in match number six of the PSL 2026 season. However, mere moments prior to the final over of the match, the Karachi Kings team was handed five additional runs, as a penalty to the Shaheen Afrid-led Lahore Qalandars.
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Much to the misery of the Qalandars, on-field umpire Faisal Afridi made the drastic call during the decisive stages of the match. He claimed that the condition of the ball got changed during the Qalandars bowling.
As per the laws of the game, any deliberate attempt to alter the condition of the ball results in a five-run penalty awarded to the batting side. In a low-scoring contest where margins were razor-thin, that sanction effectively tilted the equation in Karachi’s favour at the death.
Everything goes wrong for Qalandars in final over…
To make matters worse for the Lahore Qalandars, the team was also instructed to keep an extra fielder inside the 30-yard ring. The instruction was passed considering Shaheen Afridi’s team fell behind in the over-rate.
The directive not only compounded Qalandars’ woes, but also left them tactically constrained at the most critical juncture of the chase.
Shaheen Afridi’s fightback goes in vain
Defending 129, Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Afridi struck twice with the new ball with the wickets of David Warner and Salman Agha. The experienced paceman also dismissed Muhammad Waseem and England international Moeen Ali in the middle overs to claim sensational figures of 4-18 from his four overs.
Ubaid Shah (0-11) and Bangladesh icon Mustafizur Rahman (1-20) also delivered tight spells from their ends as the Karachi Kings were left to fend 14 runs from the final over of the match. However, with umpire Faisal Afridi gifting Karachi with five additional runs as a penalty to Qalandars for “changing the condition of the ball”, the equation drastically changed to nine runs required from the last over.
Hitherto expensive Haris Rauf started off the final over with a huge wicket of Khushdil Shah. Newcomer Abbas Afridi at number eight launched a huge six and a four off the next two deliveries to seal the deal for the Karachi Kings with three balls and four wickets to spare.
After the match, captain Shaheen Afridi said that he is not aware about who changed the condition of the ball, and is looking to find the culprit himself after thorough inspection with the cameras.
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