HBL Pakistan Super League Relentless Sultans rout Qalandars to reach final.

LAHORE -- The pitch at the Gaddafi Stadium here on Wednesday was tailor-made for the Lahore Qalandars - considered the best bowling unit of the HBL Pakistan Super League. There was movement, bounce and carry, all that the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf would ask for.

But it were the Multan Sultans who made the most of the surface in the league's Qualifier. After the Sultans batters had put up what eventually proved to be a mature show with the bat to post 160-5 on the board, the Qalandars responded poorly.

Having no answers to brilliant bowling by the Sultans, the side was bundled out for just 76 runs, as the Sultans sealed an 84-run win and a spot in the Sunday's final.

The Qalandars will have their second bite at the cherry when they face the winners of the first Eliminator between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi in the second Eliminator on Friday.

Lahore stuttered from the very start as the Sultans pacers made early inroads. After pacer Sheldon Cottrell forced an edge off Tahir Baig's bat for the opener to get caught behind and seamed the ball sharply back into the incoming Abdullah Shafique to trap him lbw, Anwar Ali castled Fakhar Zaman with an in-swinger.

Qalandars captain Shaheen promoted himself up the order once again, only to chip a full toss by Cottrell to find Usman Khan at cover, leaving the home side reeling at 33-4 by the end of the powerplay.

Hussain Talat and Sam Billings tried to give the Qalandars stability for the next three overs, but all the duo did was just delaying further damage before the former was run out and the incoming Sikandar Raza was caught in the infield off Kieran Pollard in the 10th over, leaving Qalandars in absolute tatters.

Soon after, Billings became pacer Ihsanullah's first and Sultans' seventh victim as the Englishman holed out to Cottrell at deep square leg and Rashid Khan followed as he got stumped off Usama Mir's leg-spin.

Runs started coming for the Qalandars a bit too late when Haris dispatched Ihsanullah for a six and two fours after David Wiese had slashed Usama through point for a boundary.

The tall South African thumped Usama over square-leg for another six in the 14th over but the party was over for him when the spinner trapped him lbw four balls later, effectively wrapping up the proceedings before Abbas Afridi sealed the game for the Sultans with Haris' wicket.

'When your prime batter gets out early, that puts pressure on you,' Shaheen said after the match. 'A good...