PSL 2018: Peaking at right time, Zalmi look to tame Gladiators

KARACHI: Lahore will become the centre of attention on Tuesday when it will host a mouth-watering HBL Pakistan Super League playoff featuring defending champions Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators.

In what will be a repeat of last year’s final in Lahore, Zalmi appear as the favourites to stay alive in the competition at Quetta’s expense.The reason why Zalmi seem to have the upper hand is because unlike Quetta they have almost their entire first eleven available for the first of the two Eliminators.

Almost all their foreign stars including skipper Darren Sammy were due to land in Lahore in the wee hours of Tuesday ahead of the game against Quetta. The other foreign players are Liam Dawson, Rikki Wessels, Chris Jordan and Andre Fletcher. They have, however, lost the services of Dwayne Smith, who is returning home because of family commitments.

Zalmi were hoping that Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al-Hasan will play in Lahore and later in Karachi if they qualified for the final but he is unavailable because of fitness problems.

Quetta have bigger issues as they have lost the services of their leading players including Australia’s Shane Watson and Kevin Pietersen. However, they have managed to rope in several replacements including Sri Lanka’s Thisara Perera, West Indian Johnson Charles, Bangaldesh’s Mahmudullah, England’s Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Chris Green.

But Quetta officials were confident that their hastily put together team will somehow click against Peshawar.Moin Khan, the team’s coach, said that his side will go all out to beat their rivals and stay on course for the title.

“We have a good team and I’m sure that our boys can win tomorrow and again in the remaining two games,” he said.Peshawar, meanwhile, are hoping that they will be able to capitalise on the momentum and win back-to-back games in Lahore seal a place in Sunday’s final.

They were under-pressure after suffering a series of defeats in Dubai and needed to win their last two group matches to qualify for the playoffs. They did that with a couple of impressive performances in Sharjah last week and now their hopes are high.

The Zalmi players have carried out a couple of intensive training sessions in Lahore and the team definitely exuded confidence ahead of the playoffs.“Our team has peaked at the right team,” said coach Mohammad Akram. “It’s great for us.”The match, to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium at 7.00 pm today is expected to attract a full house.

Today’s Fixture

Quetta Gladiators v Peshawar Zalmi

07:00 pm PST