PSL4: Gladiators, Zalmi to battle for early dominance

Stakes will be high when Quetta Gladiators take on Peshawar Zalmi in their opening match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season four on Friday. The Gladiators and Zalmi have developed an intense rivalry since the start of the tournament in 2016 as both teams have featured in close contests overs the years.

Both teams have already faced each other in 10 matches, where Darren Sammy-led unit have the upper hand with five victories against Gladiators’ four, whereas one game ended without result.

Last time when both teams faced off in Lahore during PSL3 playoff, it was the Zalmi who secured a narrow one-run victory against the Gladiators despite Anwar Ali’s brilliance.

On paper, both sides are evenly matched and have covered all the departments as per the playing conditions.

In terms of key players, the Gladiators will be enjoying the services of experienced campaigners like former Australian all-rounder Shane Watson, captain and wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfaraz Ahmed and veteran all-rounder Sohail Tanvir.

Those players will be accompanied by exciting youngsters like Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Irfan Jr., and Mohammad Asghar.

However, the team has suffered a massive blow as West Indies’ Sunil Narine will not be able to take part in the first game of the tournament due to injury.

Meanwhile, Zalmi have the services of Pakistan’s most successful captain Misbahul Haq, leading runs scorer in the tournament’s history Kamran Akmal, West Indies explosive all-rounder Kieron Pollard and two-time World T20 winning captain of Darren Sammy in the batting department, which should be enough to destroy any opposition’s bowling lineup on their day.