Published: Feb 11, 2017, 08:04 AM (IST)
Edited: Feb 11, 2017, 02:26 AM (IST)
Islamabad United lock horns with Lahore Qalandars in Match No. 4 of the ongoing edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017. The match will be played at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday. Islamabad United will be confident walking into the contest as the reigning champions started off their journey on a positive note, winning the opener against Peshawar Zalmi by 7 wickets (Duckworth-Lewis method). Lahore Qalandars will be eager to defeat United and establish themselves as one of the strongest in competition. However, looking at the current equations, Misbah-ul-Haq’s Islamabad United will surely be the favourites against Brendon McCullum’s Lahore Qalandars.
United’s first advantage has to be their in-form skipper, Misbah, who is still active in international cricket. He has played a lot of cricket at this venue and is aware of how the conditions change and affect the game which is sure to come in handy. While he himself is there to take care of the batting, names like Dwayne Smith, Sharjeel Khan, Brad Haddin and Shane Watson are also there in the side. Among the bowlers there are Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Irfan and Saeed Ajmal among the rest. Watson proved to be a key player in their last game, picking up 4 wickets as well scoring 26 crucial runs. Smith scored a half-century while Brad Haddin’s 73 was the other big contribution behind the victory.
Though the Lahore Qalandars are coming off a defeat, they have a rich side. Names like Brendon McCullum, Jason Roy, Grant Elliott, Azhar Ali and Umar Akmal constitute the batting while Sunil Narine, Yasir Shah and Sohail Tanvir are the names that will be interesting to see among the bowlers. Their last match was a close one. The bowlers are in a good form and in their next match, the Qalandars will want their heavy batting to cooperate as well. Looking at the side, it can be safely said that United, despite their victorious start, must not take the Qalandars lightly.
Squads:
Islamabad United: Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Shane Watson, Steven Finn, Samuel Badree, Brad Haddin (wk), Sam Billings, Sharjeel Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Saeed Ajmal, Asif Ali, Rumman Raees, Imran Khalid, Amad Butt, Hussain Talat. Supplementary players: Dwayne Smith, Ben Duckett, Shadab Khan, Zohaib Khan
Lahore Qalandars: Brendon McCullum (c), Aamer Yamin, Azhar Ali, Bilawal Bhatti, Cameron Delport, Grant Elliott, Fakhar Zaman, James Franklin, Ghulam Mudassar, Chris Green, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Rizwan, Sunil Narine, Jason Roy, Saif Badar, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Akmal, Usman Qadir, Yasir Shah, Zafar Gohar
