PSL 2020 Eliminator 1 – Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars taking place? Saturday 14th November, 14:00 (UK)
Where is Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars taking place? National Stadium, Karachi
What is the expected weather for Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars? 32c sunny
What channel is Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars on? This match will be televised live on HUM Masala (Sky Channel 732)
Where can I stream Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars? Full match replays and highlights can be streamed on https://www.cricketgateway.com
Where can I get tickets for Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars? Ticket information for all PSL 2020 fixtures can be found here
What was the outcome in the last meeting? Lahore Qalandars beat Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets
THE TEAM NEWS
PESHAWAR ZALMI
- Peshawar Zalmi could only manage a fourth-place finish in the group stage which is their worst ever finishing position in the short PSL history but they will be hoping to progress and reach a fourth consecutive final.
- Peshawar Zalmi’s squad is looking somewhat different especially among their overseas stars as English quartet Lewis Gregory, Liam Dawson, Tom Banton and Liam Livingstone are all unavailable so Saqib Mahmood has been signed along with South African star Faf du Plessis to bolster their batting line-up.
- Du Plessis is coming off an outstanding IPL 2020 with the Chennai Super Kings so his confidence will be extremely high and while bowling was clearly their strong suit in the group stage, their batting desperately needed improvement so Du Plessis will fill that void.
LAHORE QALANDARS
- The Lahore Qalandars have never reached the knockout phase of the Pakistan Super League so they come into this Eliminator with plenty of desire and motivation as they seek to get past their first hurdle in Peshawar Zalmi.
- Their record against Peshawar has always been abysmal and they had lost seven consecutive meetings with them prior to their last match back in March where Fakhar Zaman and Chris Lynn helped them chase down Zalmi’s 187/7 so that will give them confidence and belief that they can repeat that here.
- They have one of the most settled and least-disrupted teams in the PSL as Dunk, Patel, Wiese and Vilas all return as their overseas contingent and while Chris Lynn is unavailable, Tamim Iqbal is in what looks to be another strong group of players.
THE PREDICTION
Unlike the qualifier that takes place earlier in the day, it is all on the line in this PSL first qualifier as Peshawar Zalmi take on Lahore Qalandars as the loser will be knocked out. This is unchartered territory for the Qalandars who have never reached the knockout stage of the competition before and they will be raring to go here against Peshawar. the Qalandars have put together a strong team as they have a bowling unit led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Shinwari and Sohail Akhtar that is as strong as any in the tournament, while their batting is just as strong. They had five batsmen that scored between 200-300 runs each in the group stage and six different batsmen scored fifties and that is one clear strength they have over Zalmi. Peshawar have an equally good bowling attack but do not quite possess the same quality in their batting ranks even with the inclusion of Faf du Plessis, and the marginal preference goes with Lahore to progress here.
