The fifteenth match of the Pakistan Super League will be played between two big teams Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United set to play each other for the first time this season. With Rashid Khan back in the team, Shaheen Afridi the captain of Lahore Qalandars now has one more weapon to dismantle Shadab Khan and the company.
The defending champions, Lahore Qalandars played an exceptional brand of cricket in the last edition of the PSL and they are continuing with the same momentum winning two out of the three games. Currently, Shaheen’s men are in the third spot of the points table with one loss against Karachi Kings.
Islamabad United, on the other hand, has acquired the second spot with three wins in four matches. They got eliminated in Eliminator 2 by Lahore Qalandars only in the last PSL edition and Shadab Khan and his men will look for revenge in their upcoming encounter against Lahore.
What have they done so far?
Both of the teams will play for the first time in this edition. As mentioned above, the Eliminator 2 of the previous season was the last encounter between these two teams. Lahore Qalandars were the ones who thrashed the hopes of Islamabad and went on to win the title.
With players like Fakhar Zaman, Sikandar Raza, Rashid Khan, Haris Rauf, and Shaheen Afridi in the mix, the team looks well-settled. On the other hand, Islamabad is having Colin Munro, Shadab Khan, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, and others, which seems to be a promising mix of batters and bowlers.
Head to Head Record
Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United have played 15 games against each other to date. Although, Islamabad have an upper hand over the Qalandars, winning nine of the 15 games, but looking at the last game, Qalandars fought them well and won the game by just six runs. Now, it would be interesting to see if Islamabad United will be successful in winning over the Qalandars.
Key Players
Shaheen Afridi: The captain of the Lahore Qalandars is having a great time out there in the last couple of seasons, whether it’s international cricket or the Pakistan Super League. Having played three games this season, Shaheen already has five wickets under his belt including one man of the match award in the last game against Quetta Gladiators.
Shaheen has been exceptional not just in bowling but also as a captain of the team. With winning the PSL 2022 title, he is the youngest captain to have a PSL trophy. The southpaw is in the third position when it comes to the highest wicket-takers of all time in the PSL with 75 wickets in just 53 games. He will continue to dominate the batters with his pace and swing.
Azam Khan: The star of the last match, Azam Khan smashed 97 runs off just 42 deliveries against Quetta Gladiators. Not only he scored 97 runs but also helped his team reach a mammoth total of 220 which was enough to win the game by the margin of 63 runs.
Azam Khan is currently at the fifth position in the highest scorers table with 166 runs in just four games with a promising average of over 55.
Predicted XIs
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Mirza Baig, Shai Hope, Kamran Ghulam, Talat, Sikandar Raza, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi ©, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
Islamabad United: Colin Munro, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rassie Van Der Dussen, Azam Khan, Shadab Khan ©, Asif Ali, Mubasir Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abrar Ahmed,
Prediction
Lahore Qalandars might not have a healthy record against Islamabad United but they have been stronger since the last season. Being the defending champions, Qalandars are confident and pumped for the PSL 2023.
It would be a treat to watch Shaheen bowling against the star of the last match, Azam Khan. Lahore looks stronger team than Islamabad United which gives them an advantage. But looking at the previous games, if Islamabad continues to play that kind of cricket then there will not be a single team who can beat them.