The second match in the ongoing Pakistan Super League will consist of Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi facing off against each other on January 28, 2022, at the National Stadium in Karachi.
Quetta Gladiators have had a hopeless season last time, finishing at the bottom of the table. They will be hoping to forget what has transpired in the last season and will try to make a strong statement in the first game of their campaign. But it will not be easy as they are meeting the runners-up from the previous season in their first game itself.
The Gladiators have retained its skipper - Sarfaraz Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, and Naseem Shah, while James Vince and Shahid Afridi are the traded players from the Multan team.
The legendary all-rounder will miss out for 7 days due to testing positive for COVID-19 and Vince will join after finishing his international duties. In addition to these, the Quetta-based team has the luxury of some very talented native young players as well as some overseas stars.
Talking about the Zalmi, they finished third in the league stage last season, before losing the final to Multan Sulltan. They will eye another similar season but with a slight change in mistakes that cost them the silverware.
The Zalmi team management has cleared the controversy roaming around Kamran Akmal, who stated that he had been “humiliated” by his team as they didn’t pick him in the Platinum category.
The wicketkeeper-batter will miss out on the initial stage of the tournament after being tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, Wahab Riaz has also tested positive for coronavirus.
Shoaib Malik will be leading the Zalmis, and Imam-ul-Haq has been roped in as a replacement for Akmal.
All in all, this match is among two very talented units who would be eyeing to pull off a spellbinding contest for their fans.
Match Details
Date: 28th January 2022
Time: 7:30 PM IST
Venue: National Stadium, Karachi
Broadcast: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony Liv App, and Website
Pitch Report
The National Stadium pitch in Karachi is an absolute batting paradise. Bowlers will have their work cut out. The average score batting first is around the 170s. Chasing is ideal here as batting will be easy as the game progresses.
Weather Conditions
According to forecasts, there will be no rain, and will be clear throughout the match. The dew factor might come into play later in the night as the game progresses.
Squads
Quetta Gladiators
Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Ahsan Ali, Ashir Qureshi, Abdul Bangalzai, Ali Imran, Ben Duckett, James Faulkner, Ghulam Mudassar, Ifthikar Ahmed, Khurram Shahzad, Dan Lawrence, Mohammad Hasnain, Nassem Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, James Vince, Noor Ahmad, Shahid Afridi, Shimron Hetmyer, Luke Wood, Umar Akmal, Will Smeed, Sohail Tanveer.
Peshawar Zalmi
Wahab Riaz (c), Hazratullah Zazai, Matt Parkinson, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Sherfane Rutherford, Usman Qadir, Pat Brown, Hussain Talat, Salman Irshad, Arshad Iqbal, Sameen Gul, Kamran Akmal (wk), Tom Kohler Cadmore, Sirajuddin, Arish Ali Khan, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Haris(wk), Mohammad Umar, Sohail Khan, Imam-ul-Haq, Ammad Butt.
Probable Playing XI
Quetta Gladiators
Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Ahsan Ali, Shimron Hetmyer, Ben Duckett, Umar Akmal, Dan Lawrence, Mohammad Hasnain, Nassem Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Tanveer, Noor Ahmad.
Peshawar Zalmi
Hussain Talat, Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Haris(wk), Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik (c), Sherfane Rutherford, Ben Cutting, Usman Qadir, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Umar, Salman Irshad.
CE Fantasy XI
Hazratullah Zazai, Shoaib Malik, Ben Duckett, Mohammad Nawaz, Usman Qadir, Sherfane Rutherford, Haider Ali, Mohammad Hasnain, Sohail Tanveer
Captain- Shimron Hetmyer
Vice-Captain- Ben Cutting