PSL 2016 Qualifiers: Team Preview

The inaugural edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has now entered its knockout stages. Lahore Qalandars were the ones to lose out on a place in the Playoff while the rest of the four teams – Peshawar Zalmi, Quetta Gladiators, Islamabad United and Karachi Kings will now fight it out to advance to the final of the tournament which will decide the first champion of the ambitious cricket league.

The winning team among Peshawar and Quetta directly get an entry to finals. The losing team will get another chance to claim stake for a place in the finals and will meet the winner of the Islamabad vs Karachi eliminator.

Teams

Peshawar Zalmi

Peshawar Zalmi had a winning start to the league stage and also ended on a victorious note, ending at the top of the points table. The Shahid Afridi led side won six out of their eight games and are one of the favorites to win the title.

Quetta Gladiators:

The Gladiators started their run with comfortable wins over Islamabad United and Karachi Kings. Gladiators were placed 2nd on the league table behind Peshawar Zalmi after winning 6 of their 8 matches and qualifying for the playoffs.

Islamabad United:

With 4 wins and 4 losses in 8 games, Islamabad United’s record doesn’t look very exceptional but, was good enough to finish third in the points table and qualify to the eliminator stage. The side defeated Lahore Qalandars to cement their place and averted finishing last among the qualifying teams.

Karachi Kings:

Karachi Kings must credit their qualification to Islamabad United. The Kings started off with an easy win over Lahore Qalandars but later lost their track and had come on verge of elimination before Islamabad knocked out Lahore Qalandars

Qualifier – 1

Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators   

Table toppers Peshawar and Quetta met twice during the league stages and are even in head to head competitions. The batting as well as the bowling department looks sorted. Both their openers are scoring at the top while middle order is also doing a decent job. Shahid Afridi has been one of the top contributors for them while in Brad Hodge and Darren Sammy they have perfect finishers. The Wahab Riaz led bowling attack deals everything with aggression and has been successful so far.

Quetta Gladiator, on the other side, also looks equally good. The presence of experienced overseas stars like Kumar Sangakkara and Kevin Pietersen is always an advantage; both batsmen are well-known for their match-winning abilities. Ahmed Shehzad has been outstanding while Sarfraz Ahmed has also had a very good tournament until now. Both will look forward to carrying their good form at this crucial stage. Bowling wise, Umar Gul leads the charge and has the support of the emerging Mohammad Nawaz and veteran spinner Zulfiqar Babar. To conclude, the contest is set to be equal and the team that perfors better on the day will prevail.

Eliminator

Islamabad United v Karachi Kings

Islamabad United has had a mixed bag of results and would like to buckle up against Karachi Kings when they meet at the Dubai Cricket Stadium. They have an outstanding team led by Misbah-ul-Haq but unfortunately, most of them have been off colors. The team is full of T20 specialists; Andre Russell, Ashar Zaidi, and Sam Billings are a few names. The top order looks strong on paper. The inclusion of Dwayne Smith is a big boost; Sharjeel Khan must rise up to the occasion. His only notable performance this season was the half-century against Qalandars. Brad Haddin has also got back into form with a half-century in the last league game.

Mohammad Irfan and Rumman Raees have been among the wickets along with being economical. Samuel Badree and Saeed Ajmal are also tough to negotiate in this format. So, if the batsmen perform then the Islamabad side has the bowlers of the caliber who can win them the match.

Karachi Kings have advanced on the back of very mediocre performance. To be honest, they were lucky enough to enter the eliminator on the basis of NRR. To compete with Islamabad, they must ensure that the whole team contributes which has been rare in the tournament so far. The Karachi line-up mostly consists of good all-rounders. The contribution from all-rounders Shakib Al Hasan, Bilawal Bhatti, and Sohail Khan will also be a deciding factor.

Their trump card would be Ravi Bopara who has been in astonishing form. Karachi must look for an able opening partner for Lendl Simons. James Vince was replaced by local boy Shahzaib Hasan but that did not make any difference. Shoaib Malik will take up the responsibility of holding the middle order together. Mohammad Amir has been wonderful since making his comeback and would like to celebrate his inclusion in the Asia Cup squad with a stellar performance.