After experiencing a throbbing cricketing action in the first week, the Season 8 caravan of the Pakistan Super League is now gearing up for yet another action-packed week. Match No. 6 brings up the former Pakistani skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed and his successor Babar Azam who will be sharing the same field to battle out for supremacy.
The ultimate face-off between Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi will be played at a neutral venue of Karachi’s National Stadium this Monday.
The Gladiators are likely to make hefty changes in the lineup which previously took the battlefield against Multan Sultans. Will Smeed who played an incredible knock of 99 runs against Peshawar in the last season is likely to be slated in the opening slot with Jason Roy. The Lankan pacer Nuwana Thushara will continue to feature in the Quest pace battery due to the absence of Naveen-ul-Haq.
The Caribbean all-rounder Rovman Powell replaced Shakib Al Hasan in the Peshawar playing eleven and cemented his place by playing a crushing cameo of 23 runs at a strike rate of 191.67. Zalmi gaffer Darren Sammy is likely to bring in the Afghan spin-wizard Mujeeb Ur Rahman to strengthen their bowling department.
What have they done so far?
Quetta suffered a horrific start in their season’s opening fixture, which they would want to forget at the earliest after losing by 9 wickets. The Balochistan-based franchise was inflicted all-out on the current edition’s lowest team total of 110 against Multan Sultans, where they could not even complete 19 overs on the field. The bowling unit of the Gladiators also had a rough day at the job as the Janoobis went on to chase the minimal target inside 14 overs having 9 wickets in hand.
The ‘Babar Azam Era’ began for Peshawar Zalmi on a crushing note as he kick-started his captaincy stint with a nail-biting 2-run victory against his former side Karachi Kings. However, the winning bubble of the second-edition winners burst in the very next fixture where they ended up on the losing side with a massive run deficit of 56 runs. During the humongous run-chase of 211, the high-profile Zalmi batting unit collapsed like a house of cards while only the youngsters Mohammad Haris (40) and Saim Ayub (53) managed to shine bright.
Head to Head record
The heavyweight combatants are part of the PSL roster since its inception and have squared off each other 19 times at the country’s top-flight T20 competition. The Yellow Storm has rocked this head-to-head rivalry in recent seasons and is currently standing with 10 victories at a winning rate of 56%. Meanwhile, the Purple Force is also just a little behind after emerging victorious on 8 occasions while one out of 19 face-offs could not get any result.
The head-to-head record of this rivalry was tied 8-8 before the commencement of the 2022 edition where Zalmi went on to complete their third double and claim a hefty lead. Peshawar is thriving on a six-match winning streak as the Gladiators’ last victory over the Sindh opponents came back in the finals of 2019 when they lifted their maiden PSL title.
Zalmi conquered the most recent chapter of this rivalry which occurred at Gaddafi Stadium of Lahore and resulted in a 24-run triumph for them. A perfect team effort from the Khpal bowling unit successfully defended the first-inning total of 185 by daunting the Purple Force at 161 at the end of 20 overs. The Punjab-born batting all-rounder Husain Talat bagged the player of the match honor for scoring 51 runs off 33 balls along with a solitary wicket under his helm.
Key Players
All eyes on the Zalmi general
Babar Azam: The newly appointed Peshawar skipper suffered the first loss of his captaincy stint with Yellow and Blacks against Multan Sultans.
Babar was dismissed by the young speedster Ihsanullah at an individual score of 9 which eventually resulted in the surrender of Zalmi at 154. The 28-year-old who made his debut for the Yellow Storm with a robust knock of 68 from 46 balls, must be eying to get back the winning momentum.
Iftikhar Ahmed: The explosive hard-hitting batter will be bolstering the Gladiators’ middle order against his home side. Ahmed is turning up for the PSL challenge after lighting up the fireworks in the Bangladesh Premier League where he had the tournament’s best average of 58.5 while representing the Fortune Barishal side.
Despite scoring a golden duck in the opening fixture, Iftikhar still holds the status of the most dangerous Quetta batter.
Predicted Playing XI
Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Will Smeed, Umar Akmal, Sarfaraz Ahmed ©, Mohammad Hafeez, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Abdul Bangalzai, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Nuwan Thushara
Peshawar Zalmi: Mohammad Haris, Babar Azam ©, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rovman Powell, James Neesham, Wahab Riaz, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Sufiyan Muqeem
Prediction
Despite not having winning momentum on the back, Peshawar Zalmi still stands with brighter chances to emerge victorious from this contest. Looking at the high-profile names in the Quetta batting lineup and the current form of Zalmi’s bowling attack, it is highly speculated that we will see a big first-innings score on board if the Gladiators are the first ones to bat.
The mini-battle between Peshawar skipper Babar Azam and the Gladiators’ pace duo of Naseem Shah and Mohammad Hasnain will be also a legendary face-off.