Life could have been much easier for Peshawar Zalmi had they won their top-of-the-table clash against Quetta Gladiators on Monday. They’re still in a good position, and a win against Lahore Qalandars on Tuesday will seal their playoffs spot. Lose, however, and they’ll have only a two-point cushion over the three chasing teams.
One of those teams are Lahore, of course, and to make that difficult scenario for Peshawar a reality, the Qalandars have to win. A loss wouldn’t exactly be fatal to their playoff chances, but it would leave them outside the top four and needing to play catch-up to Karachi Kings and Islamabad United.
This, then, becomes somewhat of a must-win for both Peshawar and Lahore, if only to avoid an actual do-or-die scenario later on.
Qalandars will have to make do without AB de Villiers, who had started to get into form but has been ruled out for the rest of PSL 2019 due to a back injury. The likely replacement is Anton Devcich, though the New Zealand batsman hasn’t played since Lahore’s third game of the season – the disastrous loss to Tuesday’s opponents, when Peshawar bowled Qalandars out for 78.
Memories of that clash may still be fresh on the Lahore batsmen’s minds as they continue to search for consistency. Since that calamitous loss, Lahore have managed to chase down a target of 201 but also produce below-par batting displays that saw them limp to 143-7 against Quetta and 133-5 against Karachi, with a win against Quetta chasing a low score of 107 sandwiched between those two results.
The form book would suggest Qalandars will win this game, as their record so far this season reads: loss, win, loss, win, loss, win, loss. Then again, Peshawar have also responded to each of their three losses this season by winning the next game.
Zalmi will have to reassess their batting strategy after Monday’s defeat to Quetta, where a conservative approach in the middle overs meant Kamran Akmal’s quick-fire 50 at the top and Kieron Pollard’s 21-ball 44 to finish the innings went to waste.
50 number 38 in T20 cricket! @KamiAkmal23 continues with another dashing knock. Third #HBLPSL 💯 on cards?
— PakistanSuperLeague (@thePSLt20) March 4, 2019
LIVE: https://t.co/AvvNVO1kH6 #KhelDeewanoKa #QGvPZ pic.twitter.com/5vRVVmtiLS
LIKELY TEAMS:Â
Lahore Qalandars:Â Fakhar Zaman (c), Gauhar Ali (wk), Haris Sohail, Corey Anderson, Anton Devcich, Sohail Akhtar, David Wiese, Sandeep Lamichhane, Yasir Shah, Haris Rauf, Aizaz Cheema
Peshawar Zalmi:Â Kamran Akmal (wk), Andre Fletcher, Imam-ul-Haq, Kieron Pollard, Daren Sammy (c), Umar Amin, Liam Dawson, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Umaid Asif, Sameen Gul
