Peshawar Zami take on Quetta Gladiators in the 19th match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League season, which will also be the second match of the double-header on Saturday.
Peshawar did their chances of earning a playoff spot a world of good after beating Lahore Qalandars comprehensively yesterday. Sitting at the third spot with seven points from seven games, Peshawar need a win to confirm their berth but a defeat will mean they will have to wait for other results to go their way.
Peshawar lost a bit of steam after starting the season well by losing back-to-back matches in Sharjah against Islamabad United and Karachi Kings but clinched two crucial points on their return to Dubai in yesterday's clash.
Kamran Akmal's half-century and Shakib Al Hassan's quickfire 30 helped Peshawar set a 167-run target after which their seasoned spinners Mohammad Hafeez, Shahid Afridi and the Bangladesh left-armer picked up five-wickets between themselves to restrict Lahore to just 149.
Darren Sammy's men will be high on confidence, especially after their bowling unit combined well to skittle Lahore. However, they will take on the table-toppers, who will be looking to finish the group stages with a momentum-changing win following their heart-breaking loss yesterday to Islamabad.
After a solid start from top-order batsmen Ahmed Shehzad (59) and Kevin Pietersen (69) in chase of 166, Quetta just needed seven from their last two overs. However, Rumaan Raes and Mohammad Sami held their nerves to deliver top overs in the death and skittle Sarfraz Ahmad's men.
Quetta will want to get back to winning ways before they get into the knockout stages. With Pietersen and Shehzad getting the big runs consistently, the team will be well served if the middle order contributes as well.
TV Schedule
Pakistan: Ten Sports, PTV, Geo Super
Sri Lanka: Ten Sports, CSN
UK: Prime TV
West Indies: Flow TV
Bangladesh: Gazi TV
UAE: OSN Sports
Team News
Peshawar
Possible XI: Iqbal, K Akmal (wk), Hafeez, Morgan, Maqsood, Shakib, Sammy (c), Afridi, Riaz, Ali, Junaid
Quetta
Possible XI: Shafiq, Shehzad, Pietersen , Rossouw, Sarfraz (c & wk), Mahmudullah, Ali, Nawaz, Hasan, Mir, Mills
