It is now or never for Lahore Qalandars. They have to defeat PSL table toppers Quetta Gladiators on Tuesday at the Dubai International Stadium to have any chance of progressing to the playoffs.
Lahore has been a bit of a disappointment this season, with just two wins in six matches. They have a huge task against Quetta, who has looked in prime form in the PSL. Quetta has qualified for the playoff stages and will be keen to finish on top of the table with victory in their last match of the round robin stage.
It remains to be seen if Quetta, who lost against Peshawar Zalmi in the last match, will rest key players such as Luke Wright and Kevin Pietersen. The duo, who did not feature against Peshawar, is an integral part of Quetta's batting lineup and the team management might want to keep them fresh ahead of the playoff stages and give further chance to others as well.
Lahore cannot afford such luxury on Tuesday, as they will have to field their strongest team. Some of their players like Chris Gayle have been a major failure in the PSL, which has been a big concern. The West Indian has scored just 43 runs in the competition, and needs to deliver on Tuesday.
Gayle is aware of his poor form and believes his next big innings is just round the corner. Cameron Delport and Umar Akmal have shouldered the batting responsibility in many matches, but they have not been able to help the team cross the finishing line. Gayle has to deliver, no matter what, against the Quetta bowlers, which comprises of Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar and Mohammad Nawaz.
The Lahore Qalandars can draw inspiration from their last win against Peshawar, which has the best bowling lineup in the PSL. Delport and Akmal handled the Peshawar bowlers like Shaun Tait, Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan brilliantly to help Lahore post 164 runs, which was eventually a winning total.
If these batsmen are able to come up with another solid performance, a cracker of a game could take shape. The Quetta Gladiators will, however, use this game to get into perfect shape for the playoff stage. With consistent performance in the competition, they are one of the favourites for the PSL title.
Teams: Lahore Qalandars:Chris Gayle, Yasir Shah, Sohaib Maqsood, Mustafizur Rahman, Kevon Cooper, Cameron Delport, Zafar Gohar, Azhar Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Zia ul Haq, Naved Yasin, Adnan Rasool, Hammad Azam, , Dwayne Bravo, Umar Akmal, Zohaib Khan, Ehsan Adil, Abdul Razzaq, Mukhtar Ahmed, Imran Butt.
Quetta Gladiators:Kevin Pietersen, Ahmed Shehzad, Anwar Ali, Luke Wright, Elton Chigumbura, Sarfraz Ahmed Zulfiqar Babar, Umar Gul, , Bilal Asif, Asad Shafiq, , Mohammad Nawaz, Saad Nasim, Mohammad Nabi, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Bismillah Khan, Kumar Sangakkara, Rameez Raja jnr, Aizaz Cheema
Where to watch live
Game 11 of the Pakistan Super League â€" Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators -- is scheduled for 8pm local time (9:30 p.m. IST, 9 p.m. PKT, 4 p.m. GMT) start. Unfortunately there is no live TV coverage in India.
Viewers in Pakistan can watch the -- Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators live on PTV Sports, Ten Sports and Geo Super with the live streaming online option on PTV Sports Live.
OSN will broadcast the Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators live in UAE,with the match can be live streamed on OSN Play.
UK viewers can watch the Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators live on Prime TV with live streaming on Prime TV Online.
