Quetta Gladiators recently opened their win account in the 2023 edition of the Pakistan Super League and are set to play a third consecutive home game at the National Stadium of Karachi. They will be summoned by the defending champions Lahore Qalandars led by Shaheen Afridi in Match No. 7 of PSL 8 this Tuesday.
The exclusion of Martin Guptill from the QG lineup was being speculated however, the explosive opener has shut the conjectures with a ton. The 21-year-old English youngster is expected to wait furthermore for his turn to make it to the playing eleven of Purple Force. Another expected change for the Gladiators can be the veteran Mohammad Hafeez replacing Abdul Bangalzai at number three as the teenager miserably failed in the first two appearances.
Rashid Khan’s national duty will be consummated on the 19th of February and the Afghan superstar is likely to be available for this fixture. However, it is up to the Qalandars team management whether to directly include him in the playing eleven or acclimatize him with the roster for a few days. The 32-year-old spin-bowling all-rounder, Liam Dawson who is leading the Lahore spin department at the moment may have to make way for the platinum knight.
What have they done so far?
After getting thrashed by Multan Sultans in the opening game of their campaign, the Purple Force turned the tables around in the very next fixture. Quetta registered a remarkable prowess of defending a total of 168 on the Karachi pitch to claim the first points of Season 8. Martin Guptil with the willow and Mohammad Hasnain with the ball starred in the Gladiators’ six-run triumph over the heavyweights Karachi Kings.
On the other hand, the Qalandars had a great start to their title-defense campaign after emerging victorious in a nail-biting Punjab Derby encounter. It was the inaugural fixture of the PSL 8 where the champions of the previous edition were summoned by the runners-up Multan Sultans side. The Punjab-based franchise will be making its second appearance within the span of three days preceded by the PSL’s ‘El Clasico’ clash with Karachi Kings.
Head to Head record
This rivalry between two founding members of Pakistan’s biggest T20 carnival has been a furious one ever since their first encounter in the inaugural season. It has been such a neck-to-neck competition between them that the head-to-head record of this rivalry also remains equivalent, 7-7 to date.
In the previous season, Lahore Qalandars faced the Baloch opponents at their home ground and prevailed to a comfortable triumph of 8 wickets. Captain Shaheen Afridi was adjudged player of the match for his prowess of dismissing two Quetta batters inside the first three balls which gave an indisputable edge to the eventual champions.
When Roy single-handedly thumped the Qalandars
Meanwhile, the most recent face-off hosted at National Stadium was won by the Gladiators who chased down the humongous target of 205 owing to an incredible 116-run stand of Jason Roy.
Key Players
Martin Guptill: Despite the arousing questions on his form and incompetency of playing in Pak conditions, the veteran Kiwi once again proved why he is considered one of the all-time greats to play this format.
Guptill firmly held one end when the Gladiators suffered an early collapse and took them to a winning total before getting dismissed on the final ball of the innings. He also became the first player to smash a century this season after making a contribution of almost 70% in the final team total.
David Wiese: The 39-year-old Namibian all-rounder is part of the Lahore Qalandars roster since 2019 and has played a pivotal role in their recent success. He picked three wickets from two appearances against Quetta in the previous season and also played an explosive cameo of 22 runs from 9 balls on the solitary occasion of batting.
The biggest trump card in the Qalandars camp
Wiese’s ability to score quick runs in the death overs and pick handy wickets make him the biggest threat for the Purple Force.
Predicted Playing XIs
Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Hafeez, Sarfaraz Ahmed ©, Umar Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Odean Smith, Qais Ahmad, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Shai Hope, Mirza Tahir Baig, Kamran Ghulam, Hussain Talat, Sikandar Raza, David Wiese, Liam Dawson, Haris Rauf, Shaheen Afridi ©, Zaman Khan
Prediction
The Karachi-born wicket-keeping batter Sarfaraz Ahmed is undoubtedly the most experienced player on this ground among both sides. As the track record of the Purple Force in National Stadium states, having him in the captain’s position gives a major advantage to the Balochistan-based franchise.
Hence, it is going to be quite hard for the defending champions to turn down Quetta Gladiators at their claimed fortress.