PSL 2020: Lahore Qalandars look for elusive first win against Quetta Gladiators

Lahore Qalandars will look for their first win of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) when they take on Quetta Gladiators at the Gaddafi Stadium tonight.

Sitting at the bottom of the table, Qalandars will be looking for their elusive first win in the latest edition of the league against the Gladiators, who are currently placed second (six points) with three wins and two losses from five matches.

The Gladiators have won their games against Islamabad United by three and five wickets and against Karachi Kings by five wickets. However, they were thrashed by six wickets by Peshawar Zalmi and lost to the Multan Sultans by 30 runs.

The Qalandars, on the other hand, have lost all their three games and are looking at the possibility of yet another bottom of the table finish.

Led by Sohail Akhtar, the hapless Qalandars failed to chase a paltry 133 against Zalmi, losing the game by 16 runs. Against Islamabad, the team failed to defend 183, throwing away batsman Mohammad Hafeez’s 98 in vain. They had lost to the Multan Sultans in their opening match by five wickets.

The team will look to Hafeez, the top scorer for Qalandars with 113 runs and a strike rate of close to 140. Chris Lynn has also scored 80 so far, with a best of 39.

In the bowling department, their hopes will be pinned on pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has six wickets from three games, including a best of 4-18.

For the Sarfaraz Ahmed-led Quetta, Jason Roy will once again be the main man, having scored 170 runs from five games at an average of 42.50 for Quetta. Shane Watson and Sarfaraz Ahmed have also contributed with 139 and 135 runs respectively

In the bowling department, teenage pace sensation Mohammad Hasnain will be in the spotlight after sitting at top of the bowling charts with nine wickets from five games and a best of 4-25.

The match between Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators will begin at 7pm.

Squads

Lahore Qalandars: Sohail Akhtar (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Shaheen Shah Afridi, David Wiese, Usman Shinwari, Haris Rauf, Salman Butt, Chris Lynn, Samit Patel, Seekkuge Prasanna, Ben Dunk, Farzan Raja, Jaahid Ali, Muhammad Faizan, Dane Vilas, Dilbar Hussain

Quetta Gladiators: Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain), Mohammad Nawaz, Shane Watson, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hasnain, Ahsan Ali, Naseem Shah, Jason Roy, Ben Cutting, Fawad Ahmed, Sohail Khan, Tymal Mills, Abdul Nasir, Arish Ali Khan, Azam Khan, Keemo Paul, Khurram Manzoor, Zahid Mehmood