LQ vs PZ Match Preview
The Lahore Qalandars lifted the PSL title for the first time at the end of the previous season, and the fans expected them to make a perfect start to this season. But the team has been a bit inconsistent in its performances so far.
The team will be banking on Fakhar Zaman and Mirza Baig to give them a brisk start, while the likes of Kamran Ghulam and Shai Hope will lend stability to the middle order.
The team has plenty of options for seam bowling, as they have Shaheen Afridi, David Weise, Haris Rauf, and Zaman Khan in their arsenal. With Rashid Khan finally joining the squad, the team now has a quality spinner who will trouble the opposition batsmen in middle and death overs.
Babar Azam has been pretty consistent for the team at the top of the order and has given the team a couple of good starts in this tournament. The middle-order however has struggled to score runs. Tom Kohler-Cadmore played a brilliant knock of 92 runs in the opening game but hasn’t been able to get going since then.
The team will be hoping that Saim Ayub and Rovman Powell find some good form soon to lead their team to some big totals. Peshawar Zalmi has two quality all-rounders in the form of Dasun Shanaka and James Neesham who can score some quick runs toward the end of an inning.
Neesham is the leading wicket-taker for the team with 4 wickets but has been rather expensive. Wahab Riaz, who is the team’s most experienced seamer, has struggled to pick wickets, while the young Arshad Iqbal has been battered around the ground by the opposition batsmen.
Weather Report
The weather is expected to be clear with a pleasant temperature in the range of 21-24 degrees Celsius.
Pitch Report
This is the first match to be played at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore and the track will be fresh without any footmarks. The surface has historically been helpful to the batsmen and the average first-inning score here in the PSL is between 165-170. However, the team batting first will be looking at scores of over 180 to put the opposition under pressure.
Notable stats
Mohammad Haris’ Explosive Batting
While Mohammad Haris has been a bit inconsistent so far, he does have the ability to score runs at a brisk pace. In his last 9 outings, he has scored 274 runs at a superb strike rate of 186.39.
Team News
There are no injuries to report from either side.
LQ vs PZ Probable 11
LQ Playing 11
- Fakhar Zaman
- Mirza Baig
- Shai Hope (Wk)
- Kamran Ghulam
- Hussain Talat
- Sikandar Raza
- David Weise
- Rashid Khan
- Shaheen Afridi (C)
- Haris Rauf
- Zaman Khan
PZ Playing 11
- Mohammad Haris (Wk)
- Babar Azam (C)
- Saim Ayub
- Tom Kohler-Cadmore
- Rovman Powell
- James Neesham
- Dasun Shanaka
- Wahab Riaz
- Sufiyan Muqeem
- Arshad Iqbal
- Usman Qadir
Dream11 Prediction
We are backing the Lahore Qalandars to win this match. They have a good record against Peshawar Zalmi in the last few matches and will be feeling quite confident as they face them under familiar conditions of their home ground.
Lahore has a better bowling attack compared to that of Peshawar, and most of their batsmen to are in good form.
Top Picks
Shaheen Afridi: Shaheen Afridi has been playing for the Lahore Qalandars since 2018 and is inarguably their best bowler, leading the team to many memorable victories, including winning the PSL in the last season. He is the leading wicket-taker for the Qalandars this season with 5 wickets in 3 matches.
James Neesham: James Neesham has showcased his all-round abilities pretty well this season. He has picked up 4 wickets in as many matches and has also scored 72 runs at a strike rate of 141.17.
Fakhar Zaman: Fakhar Zaman is an excellent opening batsman for the Lahore Qalandars and has scored 103 runs in 3 innings so far, including a half-century. He is capable of scoring runs at a brisk pace and has a strike rate of 151.47.
LQ vs PZ Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: M Haris, S Hope
Batters: M Tahir Baig, F Zaman, T Kohler Cadmore, B Azam
All-rounders: S Raza, J Neesham (C), S Afridi (VC)
Bowlers: Rashid-Khan, U Qadir
