PSL 2018, Match 9: Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators – Match Predictions

After 8 games at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, the PSL 2018 action now shifts to Sharjah for the next 7 games and the first one of them will be played tomorrow between the Islamabad United and the Quetta Gladiators. In the overall context of the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2018) however, there is solace for the latter, given the fact they have been quite impressive in the recent matches with impressive wins over many teams.

Islamabad has had a bit of a mixed bag in the tournament as they have won one and lost one and it’s been the same story for Quetta as well. Both of them had actually started off with a loss but came back the next game to get their campaign back on track and now will be keen to take the positive momentum forward.

Probable nature of the pitch

Sharjah will be a much better pitch. It won’t be sluggish and the ball will come onto the bat nicely. Also the boundaries, both square and straight are not as big as the other two grounds in UAE.

The conditions should be pretty ideal for T20 Cricket and should remain the same all 40 overs which means the captain winning the toss will not be hesitant to bowl first unlike Dubai where batting first was the correct call due to the possibility of an already sluggish surface getting more sluggish with the game progressing further.

Playing Combination

Islamabad United

Misbah ul Haq’s fitness is an issue for Islamabad. The veteran is not only the skipper of the side but a really important domestic batsman as well in the middle order and with him not there, it really affects the composition of the line-up. They will take a call on his selection right before the game and in case he is fit, he will take over the captaincy from Rumman Raees.

The availability of Misbah will mean Asif Ali will have to go out and Chadwick Walton will open the innings. Islamabad may like to play an extra bowler in the form of Samuel Badree on the place of Luke Ronchi who has been a flop in the two games so far. If that happens, Faheem Ashraf and Shadab Khan will bat at no. 6 and no. 7 respectively.

Predicted XI: Mohammad Sami, Misbah-ul-Haq (C), Samuel Badree, Chadwick Walton, Andre Russell, Steve Finn, Sahibzada Farhan, Hussain Talat, Rumman Raees, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf

Quetta Gladiators

Quetta Gladiators were extremely dominant in the last game as they bulldozed the Lahore Qalandars by 9 wickets with 6 overs in hand. It was an absolute clinic and they won’t mind replicating that against Islamabad too.

There is no need for them to disturb their winning combination and they won’t be doing that. Asad Shafiq has found his feet as an opener and the think tank will be expecting another good hand from him at the top of the order after the 30-odd he scored against the Qalandars.

Talking about bowling, Sarfaraz Ahmed used Rahat Ali with the new ball in the second game, something he hadn’t done in the first game and it was pretty obvious Rahat was at his best bowling upfront. He made good use of that white cherry along with Jofra Archer and it should be a no-brainer now for Sarfaraz to use the southpaw at the start of the innings again.

Predicted XI: Asad Shafiq, Shane Watson, Kevin Pietersen, Sarfaraz Ahmed (C), Umar Amin, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Nawaz, Hasan Khan, Anwar Ali, Jofra Archer, Rahat Ali

Here is what CricTracker predicts for the game:

Probable Top Performers

Hussain Talat (Islamabad United) | Jofra Archer (Quetta Gladiators)

Head to Head

Matches – 5, Islamabad United– 3, Quetta Gladiators – 2

Timing of the match: 09:30 pm IST

Broadcast Details

TV – D Sport

The prediction is for the Quetta Gladiators to beat the Islamabad United in this match.

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