Lahore Qalandars vs Quetta Gladiators, Pakistan Super League 2020, Today Match Prediction 03 Mar 2020

lhq vs qtg Match Prediction & Analysis

Bottom-placed Lahore Qalandars will be desperate to end their winless streak when they take on Quetta Gladiators in the 16th match of 2020 Pakistan Super League at Gaddafi Stadium on Tuesday. Despite losing three games in a row in the competition, there is still time for Lahore Qalandars to turn things around in this home fixture. Captain Sohail Akhtar will be hoping that the side can produce their best cricket in this home fixture.

On the other hand, Quetta Gladiators will be looking to learn from their mistakes and bring their A-game to the table in this contest. Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will know that the bowlers will need to put in an improved performance against Lahore Qalandars.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Lahore Qalandars Preview

After suffering three consecutive defeats in the tournament this season, bottom-placed Lahore Qalandars, under new skipper Sohail Akhtar, will have to treat each PSL game as a must-win fixture, starting with their clash against Quetta Gladiators. The side is expected to make one or two changes to their playing XI for this game.

But their 16-run loss to Peshawar Zalmi has once again seen them get off to a poor start in this year’s competition. Sohail Akhtar has an uphill task of inspiring his team in the remaining games of the tournament and help them stay alive in the playoff race.

Chasing 133 runs in 12 overs, Fakhar Zaman and Chris Lynn got the side off to a good start and put on a 48-run partnership in the first four overs. Lewis Gregory dismissed Chris Lynn, who scored 30 runs off 15 balls with the help of four boundaries and one six. Mohammad Hafeez suffered a rare failure and was dismissed in the fifth over to see Lahore Qalandars lose their second wicket.

Fakhar Zaman also could not last any longer as he perished after scoring 22 runs off 19 balls with the help of one four and one six. Despite valiant innings from Samit Patel, Lahore fell 16 runs short of the target. Patel remained unbeaten till the end and scored 34 runs off 15 balls with the help of five boundaries and one six.

In this year’s competition, middle-order batsman Mohammad Hafeez and opener Chris Lynn have done the bulk of the scoring for Lahore Qalandars, amassing 113 and 80 runs respectively so far and the onus would be on the duo to lead the batting unit on Tuesday.

On the bowling front, Shaheen Shah Afridi has been standout bowler for Qalandars and claimed 6 scalps at an economy rate of 5.72. In the previous game, medium-pacer Dilbar Hussain was the pick of the bowlers and finished with figures of 4 for 24 in his three overs.

Lahore Qalandars Predicted Playing XI:

Sohail Akhtar (captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Samit Patel, Chris Lynn, Dane Vilas (wk), David Wiese, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi, Salman Irshad/Usman Shinwari, Maaz Khan/Seekkuge Prasanna, Dilbar Hussain

Lahore Qalandars Actual Playing XI:

Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Akhtar, Muhammad Faizan, F Zaman, Dilbar Hussain, Chris Lynn, S Prasanna, Salman Irshad, SR Patel, Shaheen Afridi, Ben Dunk

Quetta Gladiators Preview

Quetta captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will be hoping that the side can make a strong comeback in this fixture. Defending Champions are placed second in the table with 6 points from five matches.

The side’s two-match winning streak came to end against Multan Sultans in a game played at Multan Cricket Stadium on Saturday. The franchise will be looking to get back to winning ways in the competition.

Their failure to chase down a daunting target of 200 runs against Multan Sultans saw Quetta Gladiators lose the match by 30 runs. Opener Shane Watson found form with the bat and smashed 80 runs off 41 balls with the help of seven fours and seven sixes. Despite his scintillating innings, he found little support from another end as Gladiators kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

England opener Jason Roy has been a standout player with the bat for Gladiators in this year’s competition. He is currently Quetta’s leading run-scorer in the competition with 170 runs at an average of 42.50 with two half-centuries to his name. In the previous game, Jason Roy scored 30 runs off 27 balls with the help of six boundaries. Besides Roy, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Azam Khan, Ben Cutting have delivered match-winning performances with the bat for Gladiators this season.

In the bowling department, Rookie pacer Mohammad Hasnain has done exceedingly well for the side this season. With 9 scalps to his name in five matches, he is the leading wicket-taker in this year’s competition.

Left-arm quick Tymal Mills has done well to claim five wickets in the three matches that he has played so far. He missed the previous game against Multan Sultans and might be slotted into the playing XI in place of Anwar Ali. Sohail Khan, Naseem Shah and Ben Cutting bowled poorly in the previous game against Multan Sultans and conceded more than 10 runs an over.

Quetta Gladiators Predicted Playing XI:

Sarfaraz Ahmed (captain & wk), Ben Cutting, Mohammad Nawaz, Jason Roy, Shane Watson, Ahsan Ali, Azam Khan, Sohail Khan, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Anwar Ali/Tymal Mills.

Quetta Gladiators Actual Playing XI:

Ahsan Ali, Ben Cutting, Jason Roy, Mohammad Hasnain, Fawad Ahmed, Naseem Shah, Azam Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, SR Watson, Sarfraz Ahmed, Anwar Ali

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

Due to clear skies, the wicket is not going to offer much assistance to the quick bowlers. The batsmen will certainly enjoy the conditions at Gaddafi Stadium. The weather forecast for the game to be played is to be fair.

Venue Details

Gaddafi Cricket Stadium in Lahore is going to host the 16th match of 2020 Pakistan Super League between Lahore Qalandars and Quetta Gladiators.

Quetta Gladiators have a decent head-to-head record against Lahore Qalandars in PSL.  On the other hand, Lahore Qalandars have won their last PSL fixture against Quetta Gladiators played at Dubai in 2019.
 

Toss: To Bowl

Both the teams would be looking to win the toss and bowl first on this surface. The last three games played at Gaddafi Stadium have been won by sides batting second.