Lahore Qalandars, who are currently the table-toppers in the Pakistan Super League's sixth edition, are aiming to continue their winning streak in the 20th match of the league against confident Islamabad United.
Lahore Qalandars had won the match against Islamabad United by five wickets the last time the teams met on June 9th to mark the resumption of PSL 2021 after the league was suspended earlier in the year. The star-studded side, led by Sohail Akhtar, looks in good form as they’ve won both the matches since the league resumed in the UAE.
After the win in the restart game against Islamabad, Lahore’s next triumph was against Peshawar Zalmi when successfully defended a score of 170/8 and won by 10 runs. Tim David’s unbeaten 64 from 36 balls and magical bowling by Rashid Khan were the highlights of the game.
Rashid Khan and Tim David, along with James Faulkner and Ben Dunk, look certain the final line-up as Qalandars are in no mood to slow down after the dream start in PSL6. They have won 5 out of their six games.
However, Islamabad had bounced back strongly after being beaten by Qalandars. Boosted by their record 10-wicket win against Quetta Gladiators, they will be high on confidence.
They had chased down their target of 134 in exactly ten overs with their openers outstanding with Usman Khawaja scoring 40 not out and Colin Munroe smashing an unbeaten 90 from just 36 balls.
They will be without their star bowler Hassan Ali who announced last night to withdraw from the league due to family reasons. They’re also without the services of Faheem Ashraf who is recovering from a hand injury. With two main bowlers out of the show, the young duo of Mohammad Wasim Jnr and Muhammad Musa is likely to have a big chunk of responsibilities on their shoulder.
Shadab-led Islamabad will also bank on the fact that it has a record of 8-3 against Lahore Qalandars in 11 matches the two sides have played against each other in the PSL, so far.
Players to watch:
James Faulkner, Ben Dunk (Lahore Qalandars). Colin Munro, Mohammad Wasim Jnr (Islamabad United)
SQUADS:
LAHORE QALANDARS: Sohail Akhtar (c), Ahmed Danyal, Ben Dunk, Callum Ferguson, Dilbar Hussain, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, James Faulkner, Maaz Khan, Mohammad Faizan, Mohammad Hafeez, Rashid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Seekuge Prasana, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sultan Ahmed, Tim David, Zaid Alam and Zeeshan Ashraf
ISLAMABAD UNITED: Shadab Khan (c), Ahmed Saifi Abdullah, Ali Khan, Akif Javed, Asif Ali, Brandon King, Colin Munro, Fawad Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf (injured), Hasan Ali (withdrawn), Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Akhlaq, Musa Khan, Rohail Nazir, Umar Amin, Usman Khawaja, Zafar Gohar and Zeeshan Zameer.