Pakistanis cheer as PSL gets over

LAHORE As fans of Peshawar Zalmi cricket team celebrated their win in the Pakistan Super League on Sunday, the government breathed a sigh of relief with a little celebration of its own: the return of international cricket players to Pakistan, albeit in a domestic tournament.

Despite fears of another terror attack in Pakistan, the PSL final match in Lahore concluded unhindered, organisers said.

Lahore was festooned for the occasions, with major roads lit up. Though the home team had lost earlier in the tournament in games that were held in the UAE, public interest was at a fever pitch in the city as tickets were sold out within hours of their sale earlier last week.

Punjab province Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif reserved hundreds of tickets for students and special persons while his detractors accused him of using the occasion for personal projection. There was heavy security, with the army taking control of most parts of the city.

Pakistan army chief Gen Qamar Bajwa had advised Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to hold the final as planned in Lahore despite a string of terror attacks in the past weeks. The army said it would take responsibility of the security of the foreign players who also arrived to participate in the final between Peshawar Zalimi and Quetta Gladitors.