Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam Friday won the toss and elected to bat first against Shaheen Afridi-led Lahore Qalandars in the second Eliminator of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Qalandars lost to Mohammad Rizwan-led Multan Sultans in the Qualifier of the tournament on Wednesday. However, today's clash will give the Qalandars a final chance to qualify for the final.
Meanwhile, Zalmi knocked Islamabad United out of the tournament on Thursday after a spirited performance by the Babar Azam-led unit.
Today, Zalmi will be hoping that their bowling, which has been below-par throughout the tournament, can pick up from where they left off in the first Eliminator against United.
“The way the fast bowlers executed and came back, it was outstanding. The ball started to reverse after 10 overs. We couldn't finish well with the bat, we were 20 runs short. There's always room for improvement. We need to bowl well in the first six overs,” Babar said after the match.
It must be noted that the final of PSL 8 has been rescheduled and will take place on March 18, tomorrow, instead of March 19.
So far, the Qalandars have faced Zalmi twice in the tournament. Each side has won one match.
Squads
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Tahir Baig, Abdullah Shafique, Sam Billings (wk), Ahsan Bhatti, Sikandar Raza, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Zaman KhanJordan Cox (wk), and Shane Dadswell.
Peshawar Zalmi: Saim Ayub, Babar Azam (c), Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Haris (wk), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Salman Irshad, Aamer Jamal, Wahab Riaz, Azmatullah Omarzai