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Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators are no strangers to one another, and they will square off for the second time in this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL) this week in the 21st match of the tournament.
Historically, Qalandars have a better record against the Gladiators as compared to any other team, and they proved that its no fluke as they defeated the Gladiators earlier this week in a great match. Their victory in the previous match also marked the Qalandars’ first win this season.
In their first encounter, batting first, Lahore scored 209 for 5 after sensational innings from Ben Dunk and Samit Patel. Dunk had been dropped for the match that preceded the last one, and he showed why the Qalandars should have never dropped him and scored a match-winning knock of 93 runs off 43 balls, hitting 10 sixes in the process.
Even though Shaheen Afridi failed to make an impression in their previous match with the ball, Salman Irshad, Samit Patel, Dilbar Hussain, and Faizan Muhammad all played their roles well by getting the Gladiators all out for 172. Patel played a handy inning of 71 and followed it up with two wickets in the match.
The Qalandars will rely on their top-order once again to set a big total batting first on the same ground and hope that they will be able to score another victory in order to stay alive in the tournament. Their Captain Sohail Akhtar, however, needs to step up rather than drop himself down the order when the need arises.
The Quetta Gladiators were doing well in the tournament and took the challenge against the Qalandars lightly. They paid the price as the middle order took their bowling lineup to the cleaners and they returned with sorry figures. Naseem Shah, Muhammad Hasnain, and Muhammad Nawaz were largely ineffective while Ben Cutting and Anwar Ali gave away way too many runs.
Their batting was largely ineffective whilst chasing such a big total which caused Jason Roy, Shane Watson, and Sarfaraz Ahmed to fail when it mattered the most. Muhammad Nawaz and Ben Cutting showed some resistance but it was all too late for the former Champions.
Even though the Gladiators have been good this season, they will need to do something different when playing the Qalandars in their home ground once again.
Lahore will be looking to get another win under their belt, otherwise, they will face the pressure of getting knocked out of the tournament this year too. With one big victory against the Gladiators, they will feel much more confident going into this game even though they haven’t had many other good games.
Match details
Tournament: Pakistan Super League Season 5, 2020
Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Date: 7th March 2020
Time: 7.00 PM PST onwards
Pitch report
Lahore proved to be a great host in the previous encounter between these two teams, and they will look to have another capacity crowd for the match at the Gaddafi Stadium.
There are some chances of rain, and we could once again get a rain-affected game that could change the course of the final result.
The pitch has been hard and flat since teams returned to the ground for the remaining matches, and some green patches have helped the spinners take advantage.
Fawad Ahmed and Muhammad Nawaz will look to take advantage of the Gladiators’ side while Samit Patel from the Qalandars will once again hold the key with the bat and the ball.
Predicted XIs
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Chris Lynn, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Akhtar (Captain), Ben Dunk (Wicketkeeper), Samit Patel, Faizan Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Irshad, Seekkuge Prasanna, and Dilbar Hussain.
Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Shane Watson, Ahsan Ali, Azam Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed (Captain & Wicketkeeper), Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, and Fawad Ahmed.
Where to watch the matches in Pakistan?
Lahore Qalandars v Quetta Gladiators will be telecast LIVE on PTV Sports.
Live stream details
The live stream for Lahore Qalandars v Quetta Gladiators will be available on Cricingiff and Cricketgateway.
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