The 2nd finalist of the 7th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will be decided on Friday, February 24, when Shaheen Afridi’s Lahore Qalandars take on the Shadab Khan-led Islamabad United in Eliminator 02 at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Having lost the first Qualifier to defending champions Multan Sultans, tonight's game will be the last opportunity for Lahore Qalandars to claim the finals berth.
They were well beaten by Multan in Qualfier 01 and once again, it was their batting that paved the way for their demise. The signs were ominous in the last game itself where they had to depend on a tailender like Shaheen Afridi to swing the bat in a 158-run chase.
In Qualifier 01, the target was 164, and while Fakhar Zaman scored a 45-ball 63, and Kamran Ghulam chipped in with a 17-ball 20, the rest of the batting simply didn't show up.
Shaheen Afridi had a poor game, as did Zaman Khan. The duo bowled seven wicketless overs between them, conceding 65, which, in the context of the game, was a lot.
The skipper will have to up his game on Friday and he'd hope that some of his batsmen, especially Mohammed Hafeez, turns up to the party.
It won't be easy though as they will be up against a confident Islamabad United, who will come into this game after having eliminated Peshawar Zalmi.
And, they did it the hard way. Chasing has proved to be extremely difficult in the second half of the tournament but Islamabad, on Thursday, showed that it's not impossible.
Riding on Alex Hales' 49-ball 62 and excellent cameos from Azam Khan (28 off 22), Shadab (22 off 17), Faheem Ashraf (19* off 13) and Liam Dawson (10* off 2), United chased down 170 In the last over.
Earlier, Hasan Ali was the star with the ball as he claimed three wickets, which included the dangerous-looking Shoaib Malik, while giving away just 30 runs.
Lahore Qalandars prevailed (by 66 runs and 8 runs) in their two group-stage meetings this season. Will they make a hat-trick on Friday or will Islamabad avenge those defeats and book their place in the final?
Match Details - Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United, Eliminator, PSL 2022
Date: 25th February 2022
Time: 08:00 PM IST
Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Broadcast: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, SonyLiV app and website
Pitch Report:
Chasing has proved to be a near-impossible task for teams’ as the season has progressed but, last night, Islamabad United showed that it can be done. Having said that, teams’ will still like to bat first and apply the choke with the ball in the second half.
The average 1st innings score in the last 12 completed night games at the Gaddafi Stadium is 170, with chasing teams winning 5 of them.
Squads:
Lahore Qalandars:
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdullah Shafique, David Wiese, Haris Rauf, Sohail Akhtar, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ahmed Daniyal, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Kamran Ghulam, Dean Foxcroft, Zaman Khan, Maaz Khan, Samit Patel, Syed Faridoun
Islamabad United:
Shadab Khan (c), Asif Ali, Azam Khan (WK), Athar Mahmood, Marchant de Lange, Danish Aziz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Wasim, Mubasir Khan, Muhammad Akhlaq (WK), Muhammad Musa, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Paul Stirling, Zafar Gohar, Zahir Khan, Zeeshan Zameer
Probable Playing XI:
Lahore Qalandars:
Fakhar Zaman, Phil Salt (WK), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hafeez, Harry Brook, Sohail Akhtar, David Wiese, Shaheen Afridi (C), Fawad Ahmed, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan.
Islamabad United:
Alex Hales, Mubasir Khan, Shadab Khan ©, Azam Khan, Danish Aziz, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Liam Dawson, Mohammad Wasim, Marchant de Lange, Waqas Mahmood
CE Fantasy XI:
Fakhar Zaman, Alex Hales, Shadab Khan ©, Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan (WK), Samit Patel, Hasan Ali, Liam Dawson, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Waqas Maqsood
Captain: Shadab Khan
Vice-captain: Fakhar Zaman