Match overview
Lahore Qalandars defeated Islamabad United by 95 runs at Gaddafi Stadium on 23 May 2025, in one of the more one-sided results this PSL season has produced. Qalandars won the toss, chose to bat, and posted 202/8. United's chase was over as a contest inside the powerplay: they reached the sixth over at 33/4 and never recovered, finishing bowled out for 107. Salman Mirza won the Player of the Match award. The victory levelled the all-time head-to-head at 11 wins each across 23 PSL meetings between these sides.
The margin of 95 runs understates how one-sided the contest was from around the 10th over of the chase. United's middle overs produced 74 runs from 5 wickets, which sounds reasonable in isolation, but with the target so far out of reach by that stage, those runs were academic. Their final phase contribution was zero: the last wicket fell before a single run was scored in the death overs.
For Lahore, the result extends a strong recent run. They have won four of their last five completed PSL fixtures, with their only defeat coming against Karachi Kings. United, by contrast, have lost four of their last five, with form that has deteriorated sharply over the back half of the competition.
Venue and conditions
Gaddafi Stadium has hosted 145 T20 matches, making it one of the more data-rich venues in Pakistan. The average first-innings score sits at 208, and Lahore's 202/8 landed just below that mark. Teams chasing have won 43% of those matches, so the structural tilt towards batting first is modest but consistent. The average powerplay at this ground runs to 46 runs; Lahore's 58/1 in the first innings was above that, and United's 33/4 was well below it.
The death-overs average at Gaddafi is 43 runs per innings. Lahore's 69 from their final phase significantly exceeded that. United, as noted, scored nothing in theirs. Gaddafi can be a surface where the toss matters, and Lahore's decision to bat first after calling correctly proved straightforward to vindicate given how the pitch played through the second innings.
How to watch
PSL matches are broadcast in the UK via Sky Sports Cricket, with live streaming available through Sky Go for existing subscribers or via a NOW TV day pass. Fixture times for evening matches in Lahore typically translate to late afternoon or early evening slots in UK time (Pakistan Standard Time is five hours ahead of BST). Confirm the specific broadcast slot for each fixture on the Sky Sports schedule ahead of the match.
Recent form
Lahore Qalandars' form table for 2025 shows wins against Karachi Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, and now Islamabad United, alongside one defeat to Karachi Kings and a no-result against Quetta Gladiators. Four wins from five completed matches is a strong foundation heading into the latter stages of the PSL.
Islamabad United's 2025 record makes difficult reading. They beat Karachi Kings in their second fixture but have otherwise struggled badly, losing to Quetta Gladiators three times and to Peshawar Zalmi before this 95-run defeat. United will need a sharp turnaround in form if they are to remain competitive in the remaining rounds. Their next fixture will offer some indication of whether the batting issues exposed inside the powerplay here are a fixture-specific problem or something more structural.