Table-toppers Lahore Qalandars made a wobbly start to their innings to reach 14/3 against the Peshawar Zalmi due to the lethal opening spell by Wahab Riaz and veteran Mohammad Irfan.
At the start of the match, Zalmi opted to bowl first after winning the toss against Lahore in match 17 of the Pakistan Super league (PSL) in Abu Dhabi.
Skipper Sohail Akhtar and Fakhar Zaman opened the innings for the Qalandars, while Riaz took it on himself to open the bowling for his side.
The move by the Zalmi skipper paid dividends as he removed the dangerous Zaman for one from the fifth ball of the match.
The Lahore skipper was about to join Zaman in the dugout in the second over but the ball evaded Kamran Akmal and travelled to the boundary to give Akhtar’s side their first boundary of the night.
The third over of the innings ended in a maiden after Muhammad Faizan struggled to bat against Riaz. The over added pressure on the Qalandars captain who was dismissed by Mohammad Irfan after he guided the ball to Kamran Akmal.
Once Riaz and Irfan ended their spells, Umaid Asif joined the party and took the key wicket of Mohammad Hafeez. The veteran Pakistan batsman was dismissed for 2 after he top-edged the ball towards David Miller at mid-off.
Match 17 is the second of the double-header being played in Abu Dhabi and the dew factor will trouble bowlers to a great extent.
Qalandars are entering the game with an edge after beating Islamabad United by 5 wickets in the league’s re-start match on Wednesday. While the win will boost Sohail Akhtar’s side, they also have an advantage of getting acclimatised to the conditions more.
They’re also on top of the table with four wins from five games while Zalmi have tasted victory in three of their initial five encounters.
Wahab Riaz’s side were outclassed by Lahore Qalandars when the two teams met each other in first leg of the tournament in Karachi on February 21.
Who ever wins tonight will propel to the top of the table.
Players to watch out for: David Miller, Wahab Riaz (Peshawar Zalmi). Rashid Khan and Haris Rauf (Lahore Qalandars)
Squads:
Peshawar Zalmi: Kamran Akmal (wk), Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, David Miller, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Fabian Allen, Wahab Riaz (c), Umaid Asif, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Imran
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar (c.), Muhammad Faizan, Mohammed Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Tim David, James Faulkner, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Ahmed Daniyal, Haris Rauf
