PSL 2018, Match 29: Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars – Match Predictions

Peshawar Zalmi with a win over Karachi Kings last night kept themselves in contention for the playoffs and now they will again be in a virtual quarter-final scenario tonight as they face the Lahore Qalandars in the penultimate game of the Round Robin stage of PSL 3. If they win, they will likely go ahead in the tournament, while a defeat might effectively end their campaign. Mathematically, they will still have a tender bit of chance with the net run rate, but they will be gunning for a straight win if anything.

The Lahore Qalandars have no chance of advancing forward and they will just look to enjoy themselves on the ground without worrying about the result too much. They have played without any pressure in the last 3 games and have looked a completely different team than they were looking in the first half of the tournament. They will walk into this game with some really nice momentum as they have won 3 in a row and it will be a challenge for the Zalmi to stop their winning run.

Probable nature of the pitch

The pitch should be a batting beauty. While batting was hard work first up in the tournament, it has been drastically different in the latter stages as the batsmen have had a feast on some of the easiest wickets with the ball neither moving off the pitch nor holding onto the pitch.

Quality bowlers have still got wickets every now and again, but it’s by and large the batsmen who have called the shots in the last 10 games or so and it should remain the same in this game too. Batting first will be the way to go for the captain winning the toss.

Playing Combination

Peshawar Zalmi

It was a big day for Peshawar yesterday and big players came to the party. Kamran Akmal, who was the man of the tournament last season, but was struggling with his form this season, finally made a mark and scored a stroke-filled half-century up top to lay the launching pad for Darren Sammy to blast later and guide the team to a match-winning total.

Peshawar may look to change their opening combination a bit as Mohammad Hafeez is clearly not finding his feet at the top of the order. Somebody like Dwayne Smith or Riki Wessels who are used to opening the batting in the T20 format can be used at their preferred slot and Hafeez can be slotted back to no. 4.

While Peshawar’s batting was up to the mark, what would have been more heartening for Darren Sammy was how their bowlers fared up, especially the likes of Liam Dawson and Umaid Asif. The duo which is not quite the strike force of Peshawar with the ball shared 5 wickets between them and ensured Karachi never got close to the target. The captain will want another good show from them tonight.

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

Lahore Qalandars

Throughout the tournament, Lahore tried various opening combinations, but they put Fakhar Zaman at the top of the order pretty late, something which if they had done earlier might have made a difference. The left-hander who was not quite at his destructive best batting at 3 has looked far more comfortable opening the batting and has formed a nice opening combo with the Kiwi Anton Devicich. His 90 odd in the last game would easily find a place in the top 5 knocks of this year’s tournament and he will again be Lahore’s main man this evening.

Lahore’s pacers traveled round the park a little bit in the previous game against Quetta, but the spinners saved the night for them as Sunil Narine and Yasir Shah grabbed two wickets apiece and stopped the flow of runs successfully. The experienced pair will have a vital job to do in the middle overs again, but McCullum will expect his compatriot Mitchell McLenaghan to raise his game too as he has been nowhere close to his best so far.

Predicted XI: Brendon McCullum (c), Gulraiz Sadaf (WK), Sunil Narine, Agha Salman, Yasir Shah, Anton Devicich, Mitchell McClenaghan, Sohail Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Akhtar

Probable Top Performers

Umaid Asif (Peshawar Zalmi) | Sohail Akhtar (Lahore Qalandars)

Head to Head

Matches – 5, Peshawar Zalmi– 4, Lahore Qalandars – 1

The timing of the match: 05:00 pm IST

Broadcast Details

TV – D Sport

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