The table-toppers Lahore Qalandars will be hoping to bounce back in the Pakistan Super League 2023 as they will fight a battle with Islamabad United. The 26th match of the T20 Championship is scheduled to be played on Thursday, March 09 at the Pindi Club Ground in Rawalpindi.
Lahore was enjoying a dream ride in PSL 2023 with five consecutive victories to their name. However, the team’s winning streak ended in its last game against Peshawar Zalmi as it scored a defeat by 35 runs. Despite the loss, the Qalandars are at the top of the table with 12 points from six wins and two losses.
As far as Islamabad United is concerned, they are the second-best side of the T20 extravaganza. Currently, with five wins and two losses, the Shadab Khan-led side is sitting in second place. Unlike Lahore, they are on a two-match winning streak.
Interestingly, this will be the second time Lahore and Islamabad will square against each other in PSL 2023. The first game saw an all-round performance by Lahore as the team cruised to a win by a massive 110 runs. Islamabad was let down by its batting unit as the side collapsed at 90 runs while chasing a big total of 201 runs in 20 overs.
What has happened so far?
Both Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars have established themselves as strong sides in the T20 tournament owing to their all-round performance. Lahore is enjoying a purple patch in the league with six wins from eight league games.
The team defeated the runner-up Multan Sultans in the opening game by one run but could not continue the momentum and lost to Karachi Kings in the next game by 67 runs. What followed after that was five back-to-back wins for Lahore Qalandars.
The team again tasted defeat in its most recent game against Peshawar Zalmi. The defending champion failed to chase 208 runs in the 20 overs and thus lost by 35 runs.
Coming to Islamabad United, they are just behind Qalandars in the points table with two losses and five wins. They have lost their only two games in the competition against Multan Sultans and Lahore by 52 and 110 runs, respectively.
Notably, Islamabad United has scored wins in its last two games in PSL 2023 against Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators by six wickets and two wickets, respectively.
Head to Head Record
Islamabad United has an edge over Lahore Qalandars in the head-to-head records
Islamabad United are leading the head-to-head records against Lahore Qalandars with nine wins to their name from 16 league games. The remaining seven games saw the Qalandars as the winner.
However, this season, Lahore Qalandars have dominated Islamabad United as they won their first game over the side by a massive 110 runs. Notably, Lahore has won four of its last five games against United.
Key Players
Azam Khan (Islamabad United)
The 24-year-old Azam Khan is likely to be the top run-scorer for Islamabad United on Thursday in their contest against the table-toppers. He has scored a total of 277 runs in the T20 Championship so far in seven games at an average of 55.40.
The middle-order batter was good in the team’s last game against Quetta Gladiators as well with a knock of 35 runs off 25 balls.
Rashid Khan (Lahore Qalandars)
Rashid Khan will be the crucial player for Lahore Qalandars on Thursday when they will square off against Islamabad United. He is doing a good job in the tournament and has picked 11 wickets in six games at an average of 13.09 and an economy rate of 6.26.
Rashid looked in form in Lahore’s last game against Peshawar Zalmi and picked two wickets while giving away 41 runs in his four overs.
Predicted Playing XIs
Islamabad United: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Shadab Khan ©, Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Mubashir Khan, Hasan Ali, Rumman Raees, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Mirza Baig, Abdullah Shafique, Sam Billings, Sikandar Raza, Hussain Talat, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi ©, Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan
Prediction
The table-toppers Lahore Qalandars have a high chance of scoring their seventh victory in the Pakistan Super League 2023 as they will play against Islamabad United on Thursday. Qalandars are enjoying a dream ride in the T20 Championship and it will be extremely difficult for Islamabad United to score a win.
Having said that, Islamabad also has a terrific squad at their disposal and, unlike Lahore, they scored a win in their most recent game.