QG vs IU: Gladiators get Afridi boost ahead of clash with high-flying United today

Shadab Khan-led Islamabad United will face Quetta Gladiators in what could be a high-scoring game of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 at the National Stadium Karachi today.

The match begins at 7:30pm.

Islamabad United seems to be confident ahead of the clash as they aim to strengthen their position on the points table where they are currently standing at the third position with two points. Meanwhile, the Gladiators are placed at the fourth position, also with two points.

United have played two games so far in which they overwhelmed Peshawar Zalmi by nine wickets. United chased the 169-run target with 25 balls to spare after losing just one wicket.

However, they couldn’t replicate a similar performance in their second game against undefeated Multan Sultans.

Sultans' Tim David and Rilee Rossouw wreaked havoc with the bat as Islamabad United conceded as many as 217 runs in the first innings. Barring Shadab Khan, all the other bowlers conceded plenty of runs. In reply, Islamabad United fought hard, however, United ended the game 20 runs short of the target.

All the top four batsmen got starts and played aggressively but couldn’t go on to convert those into big scores. Paul Sterling (19 off 10) and Alex Hales (23 off 14) put on 22 runs for the opening wicket in two overs before the former got out. Rahmanullah Gurbaz also hit a four and a six but was guilty of throwing away his starts.

Shadab played a sensational knock and smashed the bowlers to all parts of the ground and kept the hopes alive right till the end. He scored an outstanding knock of 91 runs in 42 deliveries, a knock which was laced with five fours and nine sixes. He, unfortunately, got out in the 19th over and the match was all but over by then.

Meanwhile, Quetta Gladiators, with only one victory against Karachi Kings, are expected to get a boost in today’s game as their experienced all-rounder Shahid Afridi has recovered from COVID-19.

Quetta Gladiators have lost two out of three matches and only have two points in three games. They fell just six runs short in the last game against Multan Sultans and, thus, would be desperate to get back to winning ways.

While Afridi will be a part of the Playing XI, English cricketers Jason Roy and James Vince participation is still doubtful due to quarantine rules in place.

"For today's match Islamabad United looks more confident while Gladiators skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed needs to control his nerves during the match today," cricket analyst Sikandar Bakht commented during Geo News programme Jashan-e-Cricket.

So far, 13 matches have been played between the two sides with Quetta Gladiators pocketing victories in seven matches and Islamabad United emerging victorious in six outings.

In Karachi, two games between the two sides have been played so far, with equal winning ratio.