Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators: PSL 2019 Final, Preview

The fourth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has successfully progressed to the final where two big teams – Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators – are contesting for achieving the coveted trophy before the large number of enthusiast lovers of the game at the National Stadium, Karachi on Sunday night.

The match will start at 8pm, but the closing ceremony will begin at 6pm.

Each of the two teams has reached the PSL final for the third time, as Peshawar Zalmi won the title in 2017 whereas Quetta Gladiators could never win the title  but they were the runners-up for two consecutive years – in 2016 and 2017. Peshawar   were also the runners-up in 2018.

Both teams had also clashed with each other in the final of PSL-2017 when the Zalmi emerged victorious.

They also faced each other thrice in the current tournament, twice in the league round and later in the Qualifier. Interestingly, the Gladiators defeated the Zalmi in all the three encounters.

However, both teams have been proved the biggest in the tournament – topping the points table in the league matches, with each of them secured 14 points.

This is therefore expected that the Karachiites will watch a tough and thrilling contest between these two top teams in the final.

Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy is leading Peshawar Zalmi and present skipper of Pakistan cricket team Sarfraz Ahmed is captaining Quetta, and both are very popular among the Pakistani cricket lovers.

The highest total by Peshawar Zalmi in PSL-4 so far is 214/5, which they piled up against Islamabad United in Eliminator-2 at Karachi on Friday (March 15) while Quetta Gladiators’ highest totals were 186/5 (vs Karachi Kings at Sharjah on February 24) and 186/6 (vs Peshawar Zalmi in Qualifier at Karachi on March 13).

Shane Watson is the highest run-scorer not only for Quetta Gladiators but also in the tournament so far. He has made 423 runs (ave 47.00) in 11 matches with four fifties. He is the only batsman so far to score 400 or more runs in the tournament.

The top scorers for Peshawar Zalmi are Imam-ul-Haq (338 at an average of 30.72 with four fifties in 11 matches) and Kamran Akmal (336 at an average of 28.00 with three fifties in 12 matches).

Fast-medium bowler Hasan Ali is the leading wicket-taker not only for Peshawar Zalmi but also in the tournament so far. He has taken 25 wickets (ave 12.48) in 12 matches. He grabbed four wickets in an innings on three occasions – the most by any bowler in the tournament. His best bowling is 4/15, which he performed twice in the event.

For Quetta Gladiators, left-arm medium-fast bowler Sohail Tanvir captured the most wickets – 15 at an average of 20.20 with one four-wicket haul in 11 matches.

Squads

Peshawar Zalmi: Darren Sammy (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq, Kieron Pollard, Kamran Akmal, Imam-ul-Haq, Liam Dawson,Sohaib Maqsood, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Umaid Asif, Sameen Gul, Umar Amin, Ibtisam Sheikh, Dawid Malan, Tymal Mills, Wayne Madsen, Chris Jordan, Nabi Gul.

Quetta Gladiators: Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Shane Watson, Ahmed Shehzad, Umar Akmal, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Tanvir, Ghulam Mudassar, Mohammad Irfan, Fawad Ahmed, Ahsan Ali, Anwar Ali, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Hasnain, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Harry Gurney.