If pride was the only thing at stake, Lahore Qalandars had even that stripped off them as they were dominated by Multan Sultans in their final match of the 2019 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Having missed the chance to qualify for the play-offs, the two bottom sides were due to do battle in what was a dead rubber but Lahore failed to put up much of a fight, gifting their opponents the opportunity to sign off in style with a seven wicket win and 45 deliveries to spare, chasing a target of 141.
Shoaib Malik won the toss and put Lahore in to bat. Opposing skipper Fakhar Zaman did his part in trying to construct a strong innings for his side as he scored 53 off 36 balls before top-edging a Shahid Afridi googly to point.
However, he was let down by those around him as the top order failed to contribute with only a knock of 30 from 22 balls from David Wiese helping the team to 140/8.
None of the Multan batsmen gave the bowling attack much respect, dispatching them to all parts of the ground. Shan Masood was the standout contributor in the top order, scoring 48 from just 25 balls and effectively taking the game away from the opposition.
His team-mates seemed to be in a hurry to finish things off as well. James Vince scored a handy 25 off 14 while Johnson Charles took the Sultans over the finish line with an unbeaten 41 coming off just 25 balls.
The result means Multan spared themselves a last-place finish in the table, condemning the Qalandars to that fate instead.
