Peshawar Zalmi square off against Gladiators
sharjah — As the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) takes the bend for home, four teams have been left standing after plenty of edge-ofthe-seat thrillers.
We are down to the play-offs as the tournament returns to Sharjah yet again and first up is the bumper contest, which many reckon should have been the final.
Perhaps, it could be, with the loser here getting another chance in the third qualifying final. But that’s for another day.
For now, though, two of the most popular teams in the League — Peshawar Zalmi and the Quetta Gladiators square off at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Tuesday night, in the first of the two play-offs.
And the task to pick a winner out of this in an arduous one, considering that there’s nothing that separates these two sides.
Both the teams finished with the equal number of wins (4) and equal number of losses (3) and a no result each. What nudged Peshawar Zalmi to the top of the League table was a superior run rate.
When it comes to talent, both Peshawar Zalmi and the Quetta Gladiators have an array of it from top to down. And it will boil down to those thin, fine margins, on who will make it to the summit.
Quite simply put, whichever team handles the pressure and thrives in it, should be heading to Lahore, or Dubai, wherever the final may be. If anything, both the teams need to tighten up things a bit in all areas, be it the batting, bowling and the fielding.
Peshawar Zalmi have reason to be upbeat though as they come into the play-offs on the back of two successive wins, the second one incidentally, against the same opposition.
Another important point to note here is that Shahid Afridi is unfurling his rich experience and that bodes well for Peshawar Zalmi.
Afridi scored 54 in a losing cause against the Karachi Kings and then followed that up with a match-winning 45 not out against the Gladiators. Peshawar Zalmi have impressed in the bowling as well with young left-arm spinner Mohammad Asghar being the standout.
Meanwhile, there were a few chinks that were evident in Quetta Gladiators’ back-to-back losses against Islamabad and Peshawar.
But as their captain Sarfraz Ahmed said the other day, that those two defeats could be a good sign as he feels that they have got the losses out of the way and are due for a good result.
Whatever transpires, it should be a cracker with a full house on a week night.
james@khaleejtimes.com