Top 5 matches in Pakistan Super League history

#2 Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi, February 12th 2017

Captain Darren Sammy brought out a unique 'selfie' celebration back in 2017.

The 2017 PSL was witness to one of the craziest matches of T20 cricket ever as high-flying Peshawar Zalmi look on Lahore Qalandars. A star-studded Lahore batting lineup was ripped to shreds by the yellow storm as opening pair Hasan Ali and Mohammad Asghar removed Jason Roy and captain Brendon McCullum. Hasan also picked the wickets of the dangerous Umar Akmal and Grant Elliot, the latter thanks to a sensational slip catch by Darren Sammy.

Fakhar Zaman proved difficult to remove as the then novice and emerging player struck a defiant 33 from 19 despite wickets falling at the other end before he lost his wicket to Chris Jordan. Mohammad Rizwan was the only other batsman to reach double figures and the rest of the batsmen could not contribute as the Qalandars limped to a measly 59 all out.

Sunil Narine was immediately introduced early in the chase and he, in the company of Sohail Tanvir made quick inroads by taking out Hafeez and Malan.

It was Yasir Shah who turned the tide though, as he brought the match to life in the 12th over, just as Zalmi needed 13 from 54 with six wickets left in hand. Sohaib Maqsood was out via a wonderful catch from captain McCullum and Eoin Morgan was incorrectly given out to a Fakhar Zaman catch.

A wrong-un removed Darren Sammy to put the Zalmi seven wickets down for just 51 runs, but Wahab Riaz and Chris Jordan completed the last nine required runs over the span of the following 22 deliveries, in the process avoiding the most shocking loss in cricket history.

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#1 Islamabad United vs Lahore Qalandars, March 2nd 2018

Islamabad's bowling attack was rampant when defending 121 against Lahore.

This match probably sums up the first four years of the Pakistan Super League perfectly. Lahore Qalandars were at breaking point and desperately needed to turn over top side Islamabad and this looked very possible early on. A surprise decision to give Fakhar Zaman the new ball proved very intelligent as he removed the ruthless Luke Ronchi second ball while Sohail Khan removed Sahibzada Farhan.

Despite Misbah-ul-Haq and Samit Patel also falling cheaply, JP Duminy played out a 36-ball 34 to keep Islamabad in the game while cameos from big-hitting trio Asif Ali (16 from 8), Andre Russell (15 from 12) and Hussain Talat (33 from 21) took the side to 121-9. The best bowlers for Lahore were Sohail Khan (2/23), Yasir Shah (3/20) and Sunil Narine (0/10).

Despite Umar Akmal and Fakhar Zaman falling very early in the chase and leaving Qalandars at 4-2 owing to Samit Patel's double strike, the chase looked very comfortable for Lahore as Agha Salman and Brendon McCullum forged a partnership until the 11th over. Salman fell two short of a half-century, cleaned up by Mohammad Sami which saw the Qalandars needing 45 runs from 52 balls with seven wickets in hand and McCullum still at the crease.

Denesh Ramdin and Sohail Akhtar didn't hang around for long as Sami and Faheem were among the wickets but McCullum, playing by far his slowest knock, was still keeping Lahore in the game. Sunil Narine threatened to take the match away from Islamabad with two boundaries off West Indies team-mate Andre Russell, but Russell took revenge with a soft dismissal.

Once Sohail Khan departed for 4 and Yasir Shah offered a simple catch to JP Duminy and was removed for 3, an incredibly close run out of McCullum left them needing seven from four balls with the last two batsmen at the crease. However, Salman Irshad struck a box office maximum from Sami to take them one run away before Irshad gloved a catch to square leg to take the match into a Super Over.

Brendon McCullum and Umar Akmal struck sixes off Sami to take Lahore to 15 runs off the over and there was much debate as to who would bowl for Lahore, but in the end, Mustafizur Rahman was handed the ball ahead of Sunil Narine. Two singles sandwiched a big six from Asif Ali, but it was left to Andre Russell with his side needing seven from two balls. A lucky top edge trickled away to the boundary which was then followed by a colossal strike over long-on to seal a spine-tingling win for Islamabad in dramatic fashion.