PSL 2022 | Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars | Qualifier 01 Preview, Predictions, Fantasy XI

After a gruelling and entertaining round-robin stage, we are finally down to the business end of the 7th edition of PSL.

The playoffs are set to go underway with defending champions and table-toppers, Multan Sultans set to battle it out against Shaheen Afridi's Lahore Qalandars at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.

Rizwan's Multan have been the side to beat in the tournament so far. The defending champions have indeed played like champions, winning 9 out of the 10 games in the league-stage.

The major reason behind their success has been their dynamic batting-unit, led by Rizwan and Shan Masood.

The duo have complimented each other brilliantly, with Rizwan (479 runs in 10 innings at 68.42/130.2) playing the anchor role and Masood (457 runs in 10 innings at 45.6/140.18) smashing it to all corners from the word go. 

They've been ably backed up by the likes of Riliee Rossouw, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, each of whom have batted at a strike rate of 195+.

As far as the bowling is concerned, David Willey (10 wickets at 14.30/7.72 ), Khushdil (15 wickets at 11.6/6.6) and Imran Tahir (16 wickets at 15.43/6.33) have been the key performers.

As for Lahore, the leading run-scorer in the league-stage, Fakhar Zaman (521 runs in 10 innings at 52.10/157.4) has been their major spearhead while Mohammad Hafeez (226 runs in 10 innings at 28.25/129.9), and, especially Harry Brook (208 runs in  5 innings at 69.33/176.27) have held the middle-order together brilliantly.

In the last game, Shaheen Afridi nearly took them past an unlikely win after Zaman notched up a low score and barring Ghulam (25 off 18 balls), none of the other batsmen could make any impact.  Hafeez did score 49 but he took 44 deliveries for it.

Shaheen smashed an unbeaten 39 off 20 deliveries to force the game to the Super Over, which Peshawar Zalmi won with absolute dominance after Zaman and Brook could only muster 6 runs.

Lahore will miss the services of Rashid Khan, who is unavailable for the rest of the season due to national duties. They will bank on the trio of Afridi (15 wickets in 10 games at 20.06/7.52), Haris Rauf (13 wickets in 10 games at 28.53/9.54) and Zaman Khan (14 wickets in 10 matches at 21.07/8.2).

Qalandars will take heart from the fact that they are the only team to have beaten Multan in this season. Can they do an encore on Wednesday evening?

Match Details -Multans Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars, Qualifier 01, PSL 2022

Date: 23rd February 2022

Time: 08:00 PM IST

Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Broadcast: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, SonyLiV app and website

Pitch Report:

Win toss, bat first and apply scoreboard pressure seems to be the order of the day during the Lahore leg of the season.

The average 1st innings score in the last 10 completed night games at the Gaddafi Stadium is 171, with chasing teams winning just four of them. 

Squads:

Multan Sultans: 

Mohammad Rizwan (C & WK), Shan Masood Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, Abbas Afridi, Imran Tahir, Blessing Muzarabani, Shahnawaz Dahani, Asif Afridi, Aamer Azmat, Ihsanullah, Rizwan Hussain, Dominic Drakes, Rovman Powell, Odean Smith, Rumman Raees, Imran Khan, Johnson Charles.

Lahore Qalandars:

Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdullah Shafique, David Wiese, Haris Rauf, Sohail Akhtar, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ahmed Daniyal, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Kamran Ghulam, Dean Foxcroft, Zaman Khan, Maaz Khan, Samit Patel, Syed Faridoun

Probable Playing XI:

Multan Sultans: 

Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (C/WK), Rilee Rossouw, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Aamer Azmat, Asif Afridi, Rumman Raees, David Willey, Imran Tahir, Shahnawaz Dahani

Lahore Qalandars:

Fakhar Zaman, Phil Salt (WK), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hafeez, Harry Brook, Sohail Akhtar, David Wiese, Shaheen Afridi (C), Fawad Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan.

CE Fantasy XI:

Mohammad Rizwan (C & WK), Shan Masood (C), Fakhar Zaman, Rilee Rossouw, Harry Brook, Khushdil Shah, David Willey, Shaheen Afridi, Fawad Ahmed, Shahnawaz Dahani, Haris Rauf

Captain: Mohammad Rizwan

Vice-captain: Fakhar Zaman