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PSL 6: Disdained Gladiators look for first win against buoyant Qalandars

Abhishek Singh

After winning their opening encounter against the Peshawar Zalmi, the Qalandars have their next challenge waiting for them on the very next day. It is the Quetta Gladiators, who were humiliated by Karachi Kings in their previous encounter would face the Qalandar challenge at the National Stadium in Karachi. 

Gladiators excepting their leader to stand up to the challenge

Sarfaraz Ahmed, the skipper of the Gladiators and the biggest leader and motivator in the side got out for just five runs and that too in a fashion, not usually associated with him. He made just 5 runs and his dismissal put off the entire team. 

It is thus important that he along with senior players like Chris Gayle, Ben Cutting and Mohammad Nawaz need to take up the responsibility and make sure they give enough confidence to young guns like Tom Banton and their three quicks to play their natural game. 

Qalandars look to polish their skills 

The Lahore team played a great game, but their chase was jittery nonetheless. Senior pros like Sohail Akhtar, Fakhar Zaman and overseas imports like David Wiese and Samit Patel need to bring out their best. Hadn’t it been for a Rashid Khan special, the Qalandars might have been staring down the barrel. Thus in the early phase of the game, the men from Lahore would want their mistakes to be rectified. 

Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators: Match Details

Match Number- 04

Date and Time: 22nd February, 07:30 pm IST, 07:00 pm Local, 02:00 pm GMT

Venue- National Stadium, Karachi

Broadcast and Live stream: Sony Six and Sony LIV

Pitch Report

The pitch for this game would be a used pitch only. In the last three games played at Karachi, all of them have been low scoring ones only. But that is not because of the slowness of the wicket, rather because of some brilliant display of bowling. The wickets here have had true bounce, it’s the lack of application from batsmen and some very serious pace of change from bowlers that have made the contests low scoring. 

Weather and Toss

Karachi would have clear night skies for the game with a lot of dew on display. The skipper winning the toss would go for a bowl first without any doubt. 

Probable XIs

Lahore Qalandars

Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar (c), Agha Salman, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Samit Patel, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Ahmed Daniyal, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Mirza

Quetta Gladiators

Chris Gayle, Tom Banton, Saim Ayub, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Azam Khan, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Usman Shinwari, Naseem Shah, Qais Ahmad

Dream XI / Fantasy XI

Chris Gayle, Tom Banton, Sohail Akhtar, Mohammad Hafeez (vc), Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Ben Cutting, Rashid Khan, Ahmed Daniyal, Mohammad Nawaz, Shaheen Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain

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Saqib Mahmood’s brilliant spell in vain as Rashid, Shaheen guide Qalandars to victory

Shouldered by Rashid Khan's excellent cameo of 27 runs from 15 balls alongside senior statesman Mohammad Hafeez's composed innings, Lahore Qalandars went past Peshawar Zalmi in a jittery game to open their account in the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League. Coming to bat after the fall of two quick wickets in a single Saqib Mahmood over, Khan, 22, didn’t waste too many deliveries to get going as he and Hafeez hit the opposition skipper Wahab Riaz for 14 runs in an over, at a time when the Qalandars required 22 to win from 18 balls. Before Wahab’s over, young quick Imran Khan too had conceded nine runs from his six balls to bring the required run rate down which had risen up after Saqib Mahmood's brilliant 16th over in which he removed Samit Patel and David Wiese with a breathtaking display of reverse swing. He gave away just a solitary single, pushing the required run rate to almost eight runs per over. The Lahore side then needed 31 from 24 deliveries. Earlier in the day, Qalandar’s skipper Sohail Akhtar won the toss and decided to bowl first. His decision was validated by Shaheen Afridi who removed Imam-Ul-Haq on the very first delivery of the match. It became difficult for Zalmi to recover from that attack as wickets fell at a regular interval. It was only after two overseas, Ravi Bopara and Sherafen Rutherford added 64 runs in 56 balls that Zalmi looked like getting to a competitive total. But soon Rutherford got out too and Bopara followed him after completing his 43 ball 50. Both were removed by Shaheen who took three wickets in the game and gave away just 14 runs in his four overs. He was adjudged Man of the Match for this brilliance performance of his. It was then that Amad Butt’s unbeaten effort of 23 runs from 11 balls helped his team get up to 140. Coming to chase 140, which was a tricky total for that wicket, especially with the strong bowling lineup of the Zalmi. Qalandars' start wasn’t ideal either. Afghan spinner Mujeeb-Ur-Rahman removed skipper Akhtar at a team score of 29. That started a phenomenon where wickets kept on falling as soon as it seemed like that Zalmi were out of the game. At 109-6 at the end of 16 overs, Qalandars were struggling to get past the target until Rashid Khan started to showcase the brilliance of his death overs hitting ably supported by Professor Hafeez. With this win at the National Stadium in Karachi, the Qalandars have now set their eyes firmly on their elusive title hunt, making a strong statement for other teams to beware.