Pakistan Super League 2020, Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators: Preview, predicted XIs, where and when to watch and live stream details

Who can forget the previous match between these two teams during this year’s Pakistan Super League (PSL)? Both Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators are known to be arch-rivals, and the matches between them have always been a treat to watch no matter which PSL team you support.

Kamran Akmal helped Zalmi defeat the Gladiators in their previous encounter after he scored a whirlwind century to announce his dominance in the PSL. The two teams have faced each other a record 15 times in the PSL and Quetta has won eight of those 15 matches while the Zalmi have bagged six wins with one match having no-result.

With so much history between these two teams, we do not doubt that we will get some quality cricket during this game.

Peshawar Zalmi have been searching for victories in this tournament so far as they haven’t had the best start, unlike the previous seasons. Akmal has been their best player once again while Liam Livingstone has put in some great performances too. Haider Ali has been a great find for the team and they will look to him to fire once again as he will be looking to make a big impression with an eye on the future.

We could also see Shoaib Malik retain his place after a good show against the Kings, while Darren Sammy should definitely make a return to the side to lead his men once again.

Wahab Riaz has been the only consistent performer with the ball for the Peshawar Zalmi and Lewis Gregory has proven to be a good addition to the team. Their bowlers will need to work as a pack and restrict the Quetta Gladiators, who are blessed with some top-class international batsmen. They had a bad match against Karachi Kings a few nights ago and they will be looking to make it up for it.

Also see – PSL table

The Gladiators have been having a much better tournament and will look to extend their lead at the top of the table along with the Multan Sultans. Quetta have always been a consistent team and Sarfaraz Ahmed has been a good captain for the side.

Shane Watson has arrived at the party with an 80-run innings against Multan Sultans, while Jason Roy has been giving more consistent performances. Azam Khan has been rock solid in the middle, while Sarfaraz himself has done well in this tournament. However, the batsmen weren't able to match up to the Lahore Qalandar's lineup in their previous clash.

Except for Muhammad Nawaz and Mohammad Hasnain, the bowling has let the Gladiators down more often than not. Fans want to see the young Naseem Shah perform well too and he will be under pressure during this clash. Ben Cutting has given some good batting and bowling performances, and he could prove to be a great asset for the team in the coming matches.

Naseem Shah needs to prove his worth in the shorter format

Fans will be looking forward to this match between two great teams and former champions, and we could see a good high scoring match between the Zalmi and Gladiators.

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Match details

Tournament: Pakistan Super League Season 5, 2020

Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

Date: 5th March 2020

Time: 7.00 PM PST onwards

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Pitch report

Rawalpindi has had some of the highest and lowest-scoring matches of this year’s PSL and this shows that the pitch can be very uncertain. We’ve seen some games get affected due to rain in the past and this clash could also suffer due to the weather conditions.

Quetta have a batting-heavy side and they could look to bat first on this pitch to score a big total in case the match is affected due to rain later on. Zalmi will rely on their pacers to pull back the score as they are short of world-class spinners. Quetta could include Fawad Ahmed in place of Tymal Mills to get some spin from the pitch.

The battle between bat and ball will likely be equal in this one and we can expect both teams to fight till the last ball.

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Predicted XIs

Peshawar Zalmi: Tom Banton, Kamran Akmal (Wicketkeeper), Haider Ali, Liam Livingstone, Shoaib Malik, Lewis Gregory, Darren Sammy (Captain), Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Amir Khan, and Rahat Ali.

Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Shane Watson, Ahmed Shehzad, Sarfaraz Ahmed (Captain & Wicketkeeper), Azam Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Ben Cutting, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, and Fawad Ahmed.

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Where to watch the matches in Pakistan?

Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators will be telecast LIVE on PTV Sports.

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Live stream details

The live stream for Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators will be available on Cricingiff and Cricketgateway.