Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators, Pakistan Super League 2020, Today Match Prediction 22 Feb 2020

psz vs qtg Match Prediction & Analysis

The champions and the runners-up of last year's Pakistan Super League will be meeting again in the 4th match of the 2020 season as Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators clash. Defending champions Quetta have already opened their account for the 2020 season by winning the inaugural match against Islamabad United by 3 wickets. Led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, Quetta has a strong team this time as well and will be confident of repeating their performance from last year.

Peshawar Zalmi, meanwhile, has begun on a poor note, losing their first match against Karachi King by 10 runs.  Quetta has got the better of Peshawar on most occasions in the PSL. But this is a new season and things might turn around for Peshawar if they find the right balance.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Peshawar Zalmi Preview

Peshawar Zalmi is again being led by former West Indian captain Darren Sammy for another season. They will be disappointed with the 10-run loss in the season opener but there is still a long way to go. Peshawar has been an impressive team and have managed to reach the last three finals of the PSL because of how they have performed as a team. They will be desperate to go all the way this time round after their 2017 title win. 

Peshawar's batting unit isn't the strongest but it still has some good quality. The arrival of the experienced and in-form Shoaib Malik at the top is a big boost. Kamran Akmal showed his worth by scoring a superb 43 as the opener in the first game. Liam Livingstone, the new member of the squad, stole the show for Peshawar in the first match with a terrific 54 off 29 balls but couldn’t take his team over the line.

Tom Banton is another new entrant for Peshawar and can really be the game-changer for the team. He's a hard-hitting batsman with a strike-rate of 160 in T20s and was in excellent form in the BBL. Peshawar will miss Kieron Pollard in this big game as the West Indian all-rounder will only join the team in March. However, they would be hoping that captain Darren Sammy and Carlos Brathwaite do some magic.

In their bowling, they have two potent weapons in Hasan Ali and Wahab Riaz who are the biggest strike-bowlers and had taken 25 and 17 wickets respectively last season. While both the bowlers were expensive against Karachi in the first match, if the two get going, they will make life difficult for Quetta.

Peshawar Zalmi Predicted Playing XI:

Tom Banton, Liam Livingstone, Kamran Akmal (wk), Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Daren Sammy (c), Liam Dawson, Mohammad Mohsin, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Rahat Ali

Peshawar Zalmi Actual Playing XI:

Aamir Khan, Liam Dawson, DJG Sammy, Rahat Ali, Hasan Ali, Shoaib Malik, Wahab Riaz, Liam Livingstone, Kamran Akmal, Haider Ali, Tom Banton

Quetta Gladiators Preview

Defending champions Quetta Gladiators will be delighted for their polished and comprehensive performance in their inaugural match of the PSL 2020. While their top-order collapsed, their batting depth allowed them an easy victory while chasing a target of 169 with 9 balls to spare. Azam Khan's brilliant 33-ball 59 was the standout performance of the match. Quetta will be hoping that their star opening pair of Jason Roy and Shane Watson click in this match.

They will also count on all-rounder Ben Cutting as the hard-hitting batsman can tear any bowling apart on his day. Azam Khan has already shown his value in the lower middle order and he might well have a standout season.

On the bowling front, Mohammad Hasnain, who returned with figures of 4-25 will be the main man to watch out for. Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Khan, and Ben Cutting provide variety to the bowling line up but it does lack that X-Factor until West Indian pace bowler Keemo Paul arrives. Leg-spinner Fawad Ahmed was quite expensive in the last match and will have to get things right pretty soon.

Quetta Gladiators Predicted Playing XI:

Jason Roy, Ahmed Shehzad, Shane Watson, Abdul Nasir, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Azam Khan, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Nawaz, Fawad Ahmed, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Hasnain

Quetta Gladiators Actual Playing XI:

Ahsan Ali, Jason Roy, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hasnain, TS Mills, Fawad Ahmed, Azam Khan, Sohail Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, SR Watson, Sarfraz Ahmed

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

The National Stadium in Karachi has proven to be a good limited-overs wicket over the last few years. The pitch is generally hard and the ball comes on nicely. However, seam bowlers do get the purchase out of it as well. It is a batting wicket and batsmen will make merry. The weather in Karachi for the matchday is expected to be clear and pleasant.

Venue Details

Totals of 200-plus have been scored on three occasions in T20Is at the National Stadium in Karachi with the highest one being 205-3 by Pakistan against the West Indies in 2018. The average total batting first here is 191 so far but that should come down with more matches.

Toss: To Bat

The team winning the toss will be looking to bat first as this is a good batting-first wicket and putting on a healthy total to defend should be the ideal way.