Alcaraz, red-hot Medvedev set up Indian Wells final showdown.

LAHORE -- Both Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan heaAped praise on each other following the nerve-racking final of the HBL Pakistan Super League here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday night.

'Rizwan is a good human being, having a different personality and the way he is improving is remarkable. Scoring 500-plus runs in back-to-back PSL editions plus amassing 1,000 runs in international contests in a calendar year is not easy for a cricketer but he is doing it,' Lahore Qalandars' captain Shaheen, who led from the front with a title-winning all-round performance in the decider, said in the post-final press conference.

On the other hand, Multan Sultans' skipper Rizwan whose team could not grab the PSL-8 title after losing the final by just one run, reckoned Shaheen's batting was the key moment in the thrill-filled decider.

'For me, the turning point of the final was Shaheen's aggressive batting, and not my catch [held by David Wiese]. We had taken control over the final but Shaheen took the momentum away from us,' the 30-year-old Rizwan said referring to the left-hander's rapidfire 15-ball 44 that helped Qalandars reach the 200 mark in the end.

Commenting on his cameo featuring five sixes and two fours in the final, Shaheen said his decision to come in to bat was a quick call made with a plan.

'I was sitting wearing only one pad. Suddenly [after the fall of the fifth wicket at 112], I decided to go myself as Khushdil Shah was bowling [at that time]. I had a plan to lift the run-rate for my team to post a respectable total; and in case if fail, David Wiese and Rashid Khan have the ability to hit hard in the final few overs,' the 22-year-old captain said.

According to Shaheen, QalaAndars' head coach Aaqib Javed had endorsed his choice of batting up the order, saying the coach always trusted his decision.

On his bowling in the final, the winning skipper said though he took four wickets (for 51 runs), the last over of the innings bowled by pacer Zaman Khan was crucial as Sultans required 13 runs for victory.

Shaheen said he accepted his mistakes he had made in his first two costly overs and advised the bowlers to cover the loss while 'I will try my best to do well in my remaining two overs'.

The left-arm paceman later took four wickets, a premium effort which eventually prevented Sultans from finishing the game and earned him the man-of-the-match award.

Talking about his captaincy at Qalandars, Shaheen said it was handed to him in the...