On home ground

The last time Peshawar hosted an international cricket match was 11 years ago. Quetta has been even more deprived, with the last international match played there in 1996. Now, the Pakistan Super League franchises of these two proud cities will face off at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore today for the final of the second iteration of the tournament. Quetta Gladiators and Peshawar Zalmi were the surprise packages of the inaugural PSL even though a late surge of form took Islamabad United to the title. This time around, though, they were the two best teams in the group stage and will fittingly face off for the trophy. Amid all the controversy over security in Lahore and the absence of star foreign players, the media has sometimes forgotten that the cricket should be the main focus. That certainly wasn’t the case with the viewing public which snapped up tickets for the final in a matter of minutes. If anyone is going to be missed at the final it is Shahid Afridi of the Zalmis, whose finger injury forced him to pull out. But with Kamran Akmal, whose century set up the win against the Karachi Kings to take Peshawar to the final, and Wahab Riaz in such good form, it will be difficult to beat them.

Quetta Gladiators face an uphill task since many of its foreign players – Kevin Pietersen, Luke Wright, Carlos Brathwaite, Tymal Mills – were integral to the team. Cricketers from Zimbabwe, Bangladesh and South Africa have been recruited for the final but since they are fringe players it will be difficult to replace their international stars. The likes of Sarfraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq and Zulfiqar Babar will have to pick up the slack. The match between the Gladiators and the Zalmis in the knockout stage was a thriller that Quetta won. The final is likely to be equally exciting in front of a packed crowd at Gaddafi Stadium. The entire city of Lahore is in lockdown mode for the final, as law-enforcement agencies do their best to ensure foolproof security. But cricket enthusiasts would gladly ignore the inconvenience of getting around the city as Pakistan gears up for its biggest sporting event since the World Cup final in 1996 was played in Lahore. The PSL has become a resounding success in so short a time and hosting the final at home is the perfect capper to a superb tournament.