Watch: ‘Great success for Pakistan’: PCB chief Najam Sethi drops bombshell statement about IPL

PSL 2023 Concluded with much fanfare on Saturday as Lahore Qalandars defeated Multan Sultans by one run to win their second title, in Lahore.

Meanwhile, there always remains a comparison between fans from both countries as to which is the better franchise-based T20 league. While IPL will be entering its 16th edition, starting March 31st, PSL completed its eighth season.

The defending champions Lahore Qalandars defeated the high-flying Multan Sultans in final by the barest of margins. Batting first, Lahore completed 200 runs, thanks to a 40-ball 65 from Abdullah Shafique and an out-of-the-world 15-ball 44* from the captain Shaheen Afridi, who smashed five sixes and two fours.

The chase was well-threaded by cameos from the top order, in which the man-in-form Rilee Rossouw top-scored with 52 from 32 balls. While the lower order also contributed with crucial runs, four wickets to seamer Afridi derailed their momentum going forward. In the end it all came down to the final over, where Zaman Khan successfully defended the target with just two runs remaining.

🏆 W I N N E R S 🏆@lahoreqalandars – owners of the Supernova Trophy 🤩#HBLPSL8 | #SabSitarayHumaray | #MSvLQ pic.twitter.com/XIDb9hDRlw

— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 18, 2023

IPL has long been touted as the best T20 franchise league in the world, with some of the best cricketers plying their trade in India. But PCB chairman Najam Sethi had a different opinion and made a stunning statement that PSL has overtaken IPL in terms of digital rating.

Speaking in a press conference ahead of the final, Sethi said, “Let’s talk about digital. PSL was only at the half stage, so I asked about our digital rating. Najam Sethi show used to have a 0.5 rating on TV, whereas PSL is getting a rating of more than 11. So, it would be 18 or 20, when it completes.”

“Over 150 million people watched it digitally. It is not a small thing. At the same stage, IPL’s digital rating was 130 million and PSL’s is more than 150 million. So this is a great success for Pakistan”, he further added.