PSL 2018, Match 14, Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars – Match Predictions

The Peshawar Zalmi and the Lahore Qalandars are coming into this game with completely contrasting results on their backs. While Zalmi pulled off an absolute heist against the Quetta Gladiators from a position where the game was almost gone, the Qalandars let an easy situation slip away from themselves against the Islamabad United as they faced their 4th defeat in a row this season.

The Qalandars are desperate for a few victories now. A couple of more losses from here will mean they will be bundled out of the tournament which will be such a sad story as they have got a squad good enough to make it to the knockouts. They need to tighten themselves up going forward and believe in themselves to turn a corner.

Peshawar Zalmi will be high on confidence after beating Quetta in the manner they did and they will like to use that momentum to their advantage against the demoralized Qalandars. No doubt they will be the favourites at the start of the game.

Probable nature of the pitch

A few of the pitches of late at Sharjah have been double paced and if it’s that kind of a deck on Saturday, it may turn out to be a low scoring game. It’s always a risk bowling second at Sharjah because the boundaries are so small and if there is even a hint of dew, the ball starts skidding on and defending a score becomes virtually impossible. That’s the reason even if the captains feel it’s not a normal Sharjah wicket and may actually go a bit up and down, they will still be very tempted to field first and chase a total down rather than defending it.

Playing Combination

Peshawar Zalmi

Darren Sammy hurt his ankle in the last game and was in severe pain when he was batting. He however still put on a heroic effort to see his team home. There hasn’t been any news about his fitness, but t is being assumed that he will be alright  to take the field against the Qalandars and if that’s the case, it’s great news for Zalmi because, without Sammy, they will have found themselves as a reduced unit simply for the flair and flamboyance the skipper brings onto the table. He is tactically brilliant too and in short, is the heart and soul of Zalmi.

If Sammy is fit, there shouldn’t be any change in the Zalmi XI. They have got plenty of domestic talent in the bowling department which is allowing them to use their overseas quota to strengthen their batting and they should continue with the same policy with Tamim Iqbal, Dwayne Smith, Sammy himself and Sabbir Rahman expected to be their 4 overseas picks.

Predicted XI: Tamim Iqbal, Kamran Akmal (WK), Dwayne Smith, Mohammad Hafeez (C), Sabbir Rahman, Saad Nasim, Wahab Riaz, Umaid Asif, Ibtisam Sheikh, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Asghar

Lahore Qalandars

The Lahore Qalandars have to sort their batting order. The personnel they are picking in the XI are good enough, but they must be used in the right way. Fakhar Zaman is best suited to the opening slot in white ball Cricket and it’s very surprising why the team management is hell-bent on not opening the batting with him.

The left-hander should open with the skipper Brendon McCullum, while Agha Salman who had a great outing last evening should be slotted 3 followed by Denesh Ramdin at 4. Umar Akmal is a proper power player and he needs to be entrusted with the responsibility of finishing the innings with Sohail Akhtar.

As far as the Qalandars’ bowling is concerned, the spinners are indeed bowling beautifully with the likes of Yasir Shah and Sunil Narine getting regular wickets in the middle overs, but Bangladesh left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman hasn’t come to the party yet and is struggling with his rhythm. He went at a rate of almost 10 runs per over last evening which was too much for somebody of his stature. He will have to up his game and come up with an inspiring spell tonight as the Qalandars are in dire need of that.

Predicted XI: Brendon McCullum (c), Umar Akmal, Sunil Narine, Agha Salman, Yasir Shah, Denesh Ramdin, Mustafizur Rahman, Aamer Yamin, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Akhtar

Here’s what CricTracker predicts for the game

Probable Top Performers

Sabbir Rahman (Peshawar Zalmi) | Agha Salman (Lahore Qalandars)

Head to Head

Matches – 4, Peshawar Zalmi– 3, Lahore Qalandars – 1

The timing of the match: 09:30 pm IST

Broadcast Details

TV – D Sport

The prediction is for the Peshawar Zalmi to beat the Lahore Qalandars in this match.