PSL 2018, Eliminator 1: Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators – Match Predictions

Who will win the game? Here's our prediction.

Published - 20 Mar 2018, 12:30 IST | Updated - 20 Mar 2018, 12:30 IST

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After a month-long action in UAE, the PSL 3 now shifts to its motherland Pakistan as the second game of the playoffs which is Eliminator 1 is set to be hosted by the historical Gadaffi Stadium and the two participating teams will be the Peshawar Zalmi and the Quetta Gladiators, the same teams which had graced this venue the last season as well in the final of PSL 2.

Peshawar and Quetta had similar sort of outings at the Round Robin stage as both finished with 10 points in 10 games with 5 wins and 5 losses, however, on the basis of the better net run rate, Peshawar earned the no. 3 spot in the points table.

Out of the two games where these two teams have come across each other this season, one result has gone either side with Zalmi beating Quetta first up and then Quetta returning the favour in their second match-up of the tourney. It should be a cracking third meeting now in front of what should be a packed house in Lahore.

Pitch and Conditions

Gadaffi Stadium’s pitches are known to be as flat as roads unless and until the curators decide to go green which can’t be the case on this occasion as the ball hooping around corners in a T20 game won’t be something any of the stakeholders will want to see.

It’s almost a no-brainer to guess the nature of the pitch which will be dished out. A graveyard for the bowlers it should be and they will have to have very impressive defensive skills with the ball to avoid the thumping.

There will be dew as well, more so in the second innings and it will surely be one of the major factors influencing the captains’ decision at the toss. Whoever has the opportunity to make a decision after the coin-fall should choose to bowl first as it will make a lot of sense under dewy conditions.

Playing Combination

Peshawar Zalmi

The good news for Peshawar Zalmi is that those who could have been their first choice overseas picks are all available for selection as they have agreed to travel to Pakistan. So there shouldn’t be any changes in their XI.

They put Riki Wessels at the top of the order in their last game which was the right move even though it straightaway didn’t pay off. Wessels should remain slotted at the opening position and the management will expect him to rise to the occasion and tee off in the powerplay.

Kamran Akmal’s form is a massive positive for Peshawar ahead of the playoffs as the wicketkeeper-batsman has this knack of scoring big in a row whenever he gets in good touch. He has hit the ball the ball like a dream in the last couple of games and it won’t do Peshawar any harm if he continues the demolition job.

Darren Sammy will want a bit more control from the bowlers though, especially from the likes of Liam Dawson and Umaid Asif as they are the slightly weaker links of Peshawar’s bowling. Both of them were taken apart the other evening against Lahore and will have to gather themselves coming into this one as another lose spell tonight won’t be affordable from Peshawar’s point of view.

Predicted XI: Kamran Akmal (wk), Riki Wessels, Dwayne Smith, Mohammad Hafeez, Saad Nasim, Darren Sammy (capt), Liam Dawson, Umaid Asif, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Sameen Gul

Quetta Gladiators

Quetta has a few issues with their team composition as two of their big guns Shane Watson and Kevin Pietersen have refused to travel to Pakistan for the playoffs due to security issues. The Sarfaraz Ahmed led side has, however, some other quality T20 players at their disposal as replacements, but losing players of the calibre of Watson and Pietersen is a big blow for Quetta and it will weaken them a touch.

Watson’s replacement at the top of the order will probably be the West Indies dasher Johnson Charles who in the past has played some dazzling knocks in the shortest format of the game at the international level and can make it up for Watson’s absence if he gets going.

Also, Mahmudullah will be drafted into the XI at the place of Kevin Pietersen and will probably bat 5. The right-hander has been absolutely instrumental with his finishing skills for Bangladesh of late and Quetta will want him to make the same sort of impact for them too.

The other two overseas picks of Quetta will be Rilee Rossouw who has been available for Quetta right from the beginning of PSL 3 and Thisara Perera who has only recently joined the squad with Mahmudullah after the conclusion of the Nidahas Trophy.

Predicted XI: Asad Shafiq, Umar Amin, Rilee Rossouw, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), Mahmudullah, Mohammed Nawaz, Thisara Perera, Anwar Ali, Hasan Khan, Rahat Ali, Mir Hamza