BEN HART - Key match-ups, squad lists, head-to-head record, weather forecast, prediction, odds, form guide and more ahead of the next game of the 2022 Pakistan Super League season
Lahore Qalandars take on Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League.
The game is set for Saturday, February 19. The first ball will be bowled at 7:30pm local time (2:30am GMT).
The game will be held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
A strong Lahore Qalandars side are in buoyant mood having secured a playoff place, the first time they have done so in PSL history.
They sit comfortably in second spot, level on points with Peshawar Zalmi in third but with one game in hand and a superior net run rate, making this their best ever showing.
After defeat in the first game of the tournament to Multan Sultans they have lost just once since, when Quetta Gladiators pulled off a shock win.
Star man Fakhar Zaman is comfortably the highest scorer in the tournament, hitting at a strike rate of 162.62 and averaging 58.75 from eight innings. He was, however, dismissed for just one run against Karachi Kings in a rare off day.
But defending high scores has proved Lahore’s weakness.Two of their three defeats have come after posting 200-plus totals, which suggests there could be too much of a reliance on their leading wicket-taker, Shaheen Shah Afridi, to find a breakthrough early on.
That is something Islamabad will look to exploit, and if their form guide is anything to go by then they will win this encounter.
They have alternated between victory and defeat for each of their eight fixtures so far, and after a narrow loss to Peshawar on Thursday, they will be hoping for a win to seal a playoff spot.
Such is their grip on fourth that a win may not be required to secure progression. They should still qualify if they avoid landslide defeats to Lahore and Multan, or if Quetta fail to beat Karachi Kings.
Islamabad will, in all likelihood, have a shot at revenge against Peshawar in the first eliminator tie played between third and fourth.
Although Shadab Khan’s side were beaten by Peshawar, they will know that the outcome could have been very different had they not lost two wickets in three balls in the final stages chasing 206. The latter of those to fall was young Azam Khan, who struck a brutal 85 off 45, leaving the tail with just too much to do as they fell 10 runs short.
Azam Khan [Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images]
Fakhar Zaman has only failed to score a half-century or better twice in eight innings in PSL7 and the first of those sub-50 knocks came against Islamabad United.
The opener was dismissed for 38 looking to go big towards deep mid-wicket off the bowling of Shadab Khan.
The spinner finished with figures of 4 for 20 off four overs, and if he recovers from an injury which ruled him out of the Peshawar game, his bowling as much as his captaincy will be a welcome return.
Three of Fakhar’s dismissals in this year's PSL have come when searching for the leg-side boundary against spin, and so Liam Dawson will have to step up if Shadab is again absent.
Dawson has endured a quiet competition so far, with just three wickets in as many games since his arrival at the half-way stage.
But Shadab, with more wickets than anyone else in the competition, will be desperate to return and renew his battle with the man who has cast aside all else before him.
Matches played: 13
Lahore Qalandars wins: 4
Islamabad United wins: 9
It’s set to a clear evening in Lahore on Saturday, with temperatures hovering around a cool 18 degrees Celsius.
Lahore Qalandars: Shaheen Shah Afridi, Rashid Khan, David Wiese, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Akhtar, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ahmed Daniyal, Fakhar Zaman, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Dean Foxcroft, Zaman Khan, Maaz Khan, Samit Patel, Syed Faridoun
Supplementary round: Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Akif Javed
Partial replacement: Ben Dunk, Matthew Potts
Islamabad United: Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales (withdrew due to Covid fatigue), Mohammad Wasim Jr, Azam Khan, Paul Stirling, Colin Munro, Marchant de Lange, Muhammad Akhlaq, Reece Topley, Danish Aziz, Zafar Gohar, Mubasir Khan, M. Zeeshan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (joined up with Afghanistan, replaced by Will Jacks), Ather Mehmood, Zahid Mehmood
Supplementary draft: Musa Khan, Zahir Khan
Partial replacement: Mohammad Huraira, Liam Dawson
Shaheen Shah Afridi (centre) [Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images]
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hafeez, Phil Salt, Harry Broo, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
Islamabad United: Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Muhammad Akhlaq, Colin Munro, Asif Ali, Azam Khan, Liam Dawson, Faheem Ashraf, Mubasir Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim, Waqas Mahmood
Lahore Qalandars are the favourites for this match, with odds of 8/13. Islamabad United are available at 13/10.
Islamabad do have a favourable head-to-head record against Lahore, but they sorely missed Shadab in the defeat to Peshawar. If their talisman is absent, or anything short of his best, then a victory is certainly on the cards for the in-form Lahore.
In Pakistan, games will be on A Sports and Ten Sports.
In the UK games will be shown on Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Virgin 504).
In Australia, the games will be shown on Foxtel, Fox Sports and Kayo.
In India, Sony Sports Network carries the broadcast rights.
In the Caribbean, Flow Sports hold the broadcast rights, with Willow TV showing the tournament in North America.
SuperSport will provide coverage in South Africa, while Sky Sport will show the matches in New Zealand.
The PCB has partnered with ICC TV and tapmad TV to broadcast PSL7 in: Andorra, Antarctica, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bouvet Island, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Cocos Island, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, East Timor, Ecuador, Estonia, Falkland Islands, Faroe islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guyana, Heard Island, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgystan, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Caledonia, North Korea, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Vietnam and Venezuela.
The commentary line-up includes Nick Knight, David Gower, Mike Haysman, Pommie Mbangwa, Danny Morrison, Bazid Khan, Waqar Younis, Urooj Mumtaz, Sana Mir, Marina Iqbal and Tariq Saeed. Erin Holland, Zainab Abbas and Sikandar Bakht will present the live coverage.
PSL GUIDES (open in external window in app)
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