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PSL 2021 Preview: Struggling Quetta Gladiators face menacing Lahore Qalandars

Somya Kapoor

Lahore Qalandars might have suffered a defeat against Islamabad United in their last fixture but the side has been looking pretty dominant in the UAE leg of the Pakistan Super League. 

The loss against Islamabad pushed them down to the second spot in the points table. Though both sides have equal wins and points, Lahore’s 28-run defeat against United cost them some crucial couple of points that could have kept them at the helm of the table. 

The Qalandars are facing an issue with their batting. There have been instances where either top-order hasn’t scored runs for them or the middle-order has failed to fire. This is one aspect that the Lahore team needs to sort before it gets too late. 

To add to the misery was the margin with which they lost the match as that has affected their net run-rate as well. 

Nevertheless, Lahore will now be up against bottom-placed Quetta Gladiators who have continued their dismal run in the tournament. In seven matches that Quetta have featured, they have lost six of them. 

Lahore in fact thumped Quetta by 9 wickets in the last match where the two sides met each other in Karachi before the tournament was suspended due to rise in Covid-19 cases.   

But as they say, if you have nothing to lose, you have a lot to gain. With just one win in seven matches, the Gladiators would be seeking to produce some results that brings positivity in the dugout. 

Moreover, they are plagued with injuries with two key members, Andre Russell and Faf du Plessis have had to face the brunt of freak circumstances in the field. Russell suffered a blow on his helmet during the match against Islamabad United from Muhammad Musa Khan and was later stretchered off to a hospital following the match. 

The West Indies all-rounder was substituted by Naseem Shah under the ‘concussion substitute rule’. 

Later South Africa batsman Faf du Plessis was also injured in the team’s fixture against Peshawar Zalmi while fielding. The right-hander collided with Pakistan’s Mohammad Hasnain while diving to stop a boundary. Saim Ayub came as the concussion substitute for du Plessis.

Quetta have a lot of questions to answer and probably have more hurdles to face. 

Match Details

Match – Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars – 23rd match

Venue – Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Time – 06:30 PM IST, 01:00 PM GMT

Pitch Report

The tracks in Abu Dhabi have something on offer to the spinners but the batsmen too have some advantage once they get their eye in. It’s all about spending a fair bit of amount in the middle and then go all guns blazing. 

However, as the game progresses, the temperature would cool down a bit and the dew factor can also come into play. So, the captain who wins the toss should elect to bowl first. 

Team News 

Lahore Qalandars 

Lahore Qalandars are looking pretty stable at the moment despite their defeat against Islamabad United. However, they need to rejig the plans as a batting unit because just one lapse has dropped them down to the second position in the points table. 

The side isn’t short of star performers who can take away the match single handedly but it is all about the balancing act. With the likes of Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Rashid Khan and James Faulkner, Lahore are a pretty sorted side for now. 

One major aspect of their successful run so far is the number of all-rounders they have in the side. 

Quetta Gladiators

The Sarfaraz Ahmed-led side were anyhow facing troubles on the field with their performance in the tournament and the side then suffered two blows in two matches. 

First the West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell was hit by a short ball from Musa during the match against Islamabad and was taken to hospital and then the former South Africa captain Faf du Plessis during the clash against Peshawar Zalmi while fielding. 

Faf later tweeted that he was recovering and would be soon back on the field. “Thank you everyone for all the messages of support. I’m back at the hotel recovering. Have concussion with some memory loss but I will be fine. Hopefully be back on the field soon. Much love,” du Plessis tweeted.

With two of the most experienced customers getting injured, Sarfaraz has some workload on himself to make a balanced playing XI. 

Probable playing XI

Lahore Qalandars

Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar (c), Zeeshan Ashraf, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Tim David, James Faulkner, Rashid Khan, Ahmed Daniyal, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf

Quetta Gladiators

Saim Ayub, Usman Khan, Jake Weatherald, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Azam Khan, Cameron Delport, Mohammad Nawaz, Zahir Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Khurram Shahzad, Zahid Mahmood

Fantasy XI

Azam Khan, Ben Dunk, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Usman Khan, Tim David, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Nawaz, James Faulkner (VC), Mohammad Hafeez, Haris Rauf, Rashid-Khan(C)

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