Peshawar look to maintain lead against struggling Lahore

Quetta Gladiators v Karachi Kings

Shoaib Malik had never lost three consecutive Twenty20 matches as captain before the Pakistan Super League began. Then out of nowhere his highly-fancied Karachi Kings side followed an opening game victory with three defeats, two of them from winning positions. But their second win of the season, against Lahore Qalandars on Friday, has put their campaign back on track. A stern test in the form of league leaders Quetta Glaiators now awaits them in the first game of the double header at the Sharjah Cricket Ground on Saturday (February 13).

From being called a well-rounded unit, the Kings are now called a one-man show. That because the performances of Ravi Bopara have towered over the those of the others in the side. The Englishman, recently snubbed in the Indian Premier League auction, is now the highest run-scorer and wicket-taker in the tournament. His unbeaten 71 and figures of 6 for 16 ranks among the best all-round performances in the format. The good news for Karachi is that Malik is not averse to springing changes to his side. His promotion up the order is likely to add more meat to the top-3. Malik also has as many as eight bowlers at his disposal that could unnerve Quetta's batsmen. The only negative after Friday's win is that Mohammad Amir is still recovering from a groin niggle and could miss out another game.

Quetta Gladiators, on the other hand, have settled on a perfect balance. All six of the bowlers used in Thursday's game against Islamabad were amongst the wickets and with captain Sarfraz Ahmed scoring a hundred, the top-order looks well-oiled. If anything, the introduction of Grant Elliott has further strengthened their line-up. They have all, but sealed qualification to the knockouts but will want to ensure they finish in the top two to earn themselves two shots at making the final. After their start to the PSL, it's the least they deserve.

Quotes:

Sarfraz Ahmed (Quetta): "At the start of the tournament, no body was giving us any chance. But we've not changed. We take every game as it comes and execute our plans."

Shoaib Malik (Karachi): "Ravi Bopara has been extremely consistent for us and that has been great. We were able to defend 178 against Lahore without even bowling Shakib Al Hasan or Imad Wasim and that's a big positive sign."

Squads:

Quetta Gladiators: Sarfraz Ahmed, Aizaz Cheema, Anwar Ali, Bilal Asif, Elton Chigumbura, Mohammad Nabi, Kevin Pietersen, Saad Nasim, Umar Gul, Zulfiqar Babar, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Shafiq, Jason Holder, Mohammad Nawaz, Rameez Raja, Kumar Sangakkara, Luke Wright, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Bismillah Khan, Grant Elliott

Karachi Kings: Shoaib Malik, Ravi Bopara, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Nauman Anwar, Saifullah Bangash, Lendl Simmons, Sohail Tanvir,Shahzaib Hasan, Bilawal Bhatti, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mir Hamza, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Sohail Khan, Fawad Alam, Usama Mir, James Vince

Peshawar Zalmi v Lahore Qalandars

The second game of Saturday sees table-toppers Peshawar Zalmi take on bottom-dwellers Lahore Qalandar at the Sharjah Stadium. Like a well-oiled machine, Shahid Afridi's boys have been ruthlessly efficient enroute their four wins from five games. The bowling attack, the best in the league, showed its class yet again on Friday by restricting Islamabad to a sub-par 152 when at one stage 180 seemed possible. Tamim Iqbal and Mohamamd Hafeez have been imperious at the top order. The middle order remains a tad circumspect and it'll be interesting to see how they go if the top-order fail in a game.

Meanwhile, Dwayne Bravo reckons Lahore Qalandar are still in with a chance to make the playoffs. Mathematically, yes. But their best chance to put their campaign back on track was in the clash against fellow-strugglers Karachi and they fluffed it. They were 98 for none, chasing 178, around the half-way mark and still managed to throw it away. The bowling continues to lack penetration and the fielding hit new levels of low on Friday when they dropped as many as seven catches. Regular captain Azhar Ali sat himself out to give the line-up better balance and could miss out another game with the top-order doing performing fairly well without him. Lahore's solitary win in the tournament came against high-flying Quetta. Can they spring a surprise on Shahid Afridi's Zalmi?

Quotes:

Tamim Iqbal (Peshawar): "I struggled a bit on the Dubai pitch as I'd never played there before. I know what to expect from Sharjah and am able to pace my innings much better."

Dwayne Bravo (Lahore): "We still have some opportunities to get some points on the board but we need to definitely improve on our fielding if we need to go further."

Squads:

Peshawar Zalmi: Shahid Afridi, Aamer Yamin, Jim Allenby, Chris Jordan, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Darren Sammy, Shahid Yousuf, Wahab Riaz, Abdur Rehman, Junaid Khan, Dawid Malan, Tamim Iqbal, Brad Hodge, Taj Wali, Musadiq Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Israrullah, Mohammad Asghar, Shaun Tait

Lahore Qalandars: Azhar Ali, Adnan Rasool, Dwayne Bravo, Cameron Delport, Hammad Azam, Mustafizur Rahman, Sohaib Maqsood, Zia-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Kevon Cooper, Chris Gayle, Mohammad Rizwan, Umar Akmal, Zafar Gohar, Zohaib Khan, Ehsan Adil, Mukhtar Ahmed, Imran Butt, Naved Yasin, Ajantha Mendis