Defending champions Lahore Qalandars are set to face off against Peshawar Zalmi in the second Eliminator of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Friday (today).
Shaheen Afridi-led Qalandars lost to Mohammad Rizwan-led Multan Sultans in the Qualifier of the tournament on Wednesday. However, today’s clash will give the Qalandars a final chance to qualify for the final.
Following his side’s defeat on Wednesday, Shaheen said: “We wanted to win the toss and bowl but we did not expect such a score. We lost wickets quickly and we will look into what went wrong and prepare for the next game as we still have a chance.”
“When the main batters get out early, there is pressure on the later batters. A good catch or a run-out can win you a game and we will work on that. It is qudrat ka nizaam (state of nature), the wind started to blow and Cottrell got the ball to swing,” he added.
Meanwhile, Zalmi knocked Islamabad United out of the tournament on Thursday after a spirited performance by the Babar Azam-led unit.
Today, Zalmi will be hoping that their bowling, which has been below-par throughout the tournament, can pick up from where they left off in the first Eliminator against United.
“The way the fast bowlers executed and came back, it was outstanding. The ball started to reverse after 10 overs. We couldn’t finish well with the bat, we were 20 runs short. There’s always room for improvement. We need to bowl well in the first six overs,” Babar said after the match.
It must be noted that the final of PSL 8 has been rescheduled and will take place on March 18, tomorrow, instead of March 19.
So far, the Qalandars have faced Zalmi twice in the tournament. Each side has won one match.
Squads
Lahore Qalandars: Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Fakhar Zaman, Rashid Khan, David Wiese, Hussain Talat, Haris Rauf, Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza, Ahmad Daniyal, Dilbar Hussain, Kamran Ghulam, Mirza Tahir Baig, Shawaiz Irfan, Zaman Khan, Jalat Khan, Jordan Cox (wk), Ahsan Bhatti, Sam Billings (wk) and Shane Dadswell.
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Wahab Riaz, Arshad Iqbal, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Aamer Jamal, Saim Ayub, Salman Irshad, Haseebullah Khan, Khurram Shahzad, Richard Gleeson, Sufyan Muqeem, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Usman Qadir, Jimmy Neesham and Haris Sohail.
