Lahore Qalandars–Multan Sultans rivalry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Other names | Punjab Derby[1] |
|---|---|
| Sport | Cricket |
| Location | |
| Teams | Lahore Qalandars (LQ) Multan Sultans (MS) |
| First meeting | 23 February 2018 Multan Sultans won by 43 runs[2] |
| Latest meeting | 3 April 2026 Lahore Qalandars won by 20 runs |
| Next meeting | PSL 2027 |
| Stadiums | Gaddafi Stadium (Lahore) Multan Cricket Stadium (Multan) |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 22 |
| Most wins | 11 (jointly held) |
| Most player appearances | Shaheen Shah Afridi (22) |
| All-time record | Lahore Qalandars: 11 Multan Sultans: 11 |
| All-time series (PSL only) | LQ: 11 Ms: 11 |
| Largest victory | By runs: MS beat LQ by 84 runs (2023) By wickets: LQ beat MS by 9 wickets (2020) |
| Longest win streak | 3, Multan Sultans, (21 February 2024 to 25 April 2025) |
| Current win streak | 2, Lahore Qalandars (26 April 2025–present) |
Location of the two teams in Pakistan | |
The Lahore Qalandars–Multan Sultans rivalry, also known as the Punjab Derby, is a cricket rivalry between two teams in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), a provincial city rivalry between the cricket teams of Lahore and Multan that has continued into the PSL as well.[3] It is considered one of the PSL's most significant rivalries, due to the closeness and competitiveness of the teams, and the historical and cultural identities that they play for as part of Punjab.[4] The two cities have shared a rivalry in domestic cricket, with the PSL specifically providing a high-voltage platform for the two cities to compete against each other.[5][6][7]
Both teams have played on 22 occasions against each other, with both sides winning 11 games apiece. In the 2018 season, Multan won the first match between the sides in their debut season,[8] with Lahore winning the second fixture.[9] Lahore won the first match in the 2019 season,[10] with Multan winning the return fixture.[11] In the 2020 season, both teams once again won a game each,[12][13] before facing off for a third time in the eliminator, which the Qalandars won.[14] In the 2021 season, Multan completed the group stage double over Lahore by comfortable margins.[15][16] In the 2022 season, Multan won the first encounter[17] and Lahore triumphed in the second match in the group stage.[18] The teams then faced each other in the qualifier, with Multan defeating Lahore to advance to the final for a second successive season.[19] However, Lahore eventually reached the final that season and defeated the Sultans by 42 runs to clinch their first PSL title.[20] In the 2023 season, the Qalandars did the group stage double over the Sultans;[21][22] the teams once again met in the knockout round, in the qualifier, where Multan struck back to crush Lahore by 84 runs to reach their third successive final.[23] However, Lahore reached the final and once again defeated Multan by a narrow margin of 1 run, successfully defending their title to win their second PSL title.[24] In the 2024 season, the Sultans once again did the group stage double over a struggling Lahore team having a disastrous campaign.[25][26] In the 2025 season, Multan extended their winning streak to 3 by winning the first fixture between the sides,[27] with Lahore ending this winless run by triumphing in the return match.[28] In the 2026 season, the Qalandars extended their streak to 2 by winning the only match between the teams in this season.[29]
