PSL 2019 Final preview, likely XIs: Zalmi strive to stop Gladiators juggernaut

The difference between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators and the other teams has been substantial in PSL 2019. Fittingly, the two best teams of the tournament will clash in the final, at National Stadium, Karachi, on March 17.

The teams have met thrice this season and Gladiators have won every single time, including the Qualifier on March 13. Shane Watson was their star that day. He first slammed a 43-ball 71; then he bowled the last over of the match – his first of the tournament – and got Kieron Pollard.

Zalmi turned things around after the defeat. Their top three – Kamran Akmal (74 in 43 balls), Imam-ul-Haq (37 in 21), and Pollard (37 in 21) – got them off to a rollicking start. They finished on 214/5 before Hasan Ali (3/29) and Chris Jordan (3/26) restricted Islamabad United to 166/9.

This is going to be a battle between the Zalmi bowlers and the Gladiators big hitters. Both lineups have been the best in the tournament.

If Hasan, Tymal Mills, Wahab Riaz, Liam Dawson, and Pollard were not enough, Jordan has arrived to boost the Zalmi cause even further. On the other hand, they will be up against the dangerous Gladiators batting order that boasts of Watson, Ahmed Shehzad, Rilee Rossouw, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed, Dwayne Bravo, Ahsan Ali, and Mohammad Nawaz. It will be a battle to cherish.

On the other hand, while the Zalmi innings may not be an entertaining one, it may be the unsung yet decisive one.

Head to head

Zalmi had a 5-4 lead over Gladiators before the tournament, but Gladiators has now turned the tables with their three wins. Gladiators will definitely hold the psychological advantage.

Key players:

Shane Watson (Quetta Gladiators): Watson has 423 runs in the tournament when nobody has more than 355 – and he has got them at 47 and a strike rate of 144. He will be the one Zalmi would want to see the back of. What is more, he has shown he is not reluctant to bowl anymore.

Darren Sammy (Peshawar Zalmi): Sammy has not bowled a single ball in the tournament. He has not scored a single fifty either, but he has got his runs very quickly, at a strike rate of 148. He has also got out only 6 times despite scoring so quickly. That, and given how his leadership has kept the team together, is exactly why oppositions fear him.

Likely XIs:

Quetta Gladiators: Shane Watson, Ahmed Shehzad, Ahsan Ali, Rilee Rossouw, Umar Akmal, Sarfraz Ahmed (c & wk), Dwayne Bravo, Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Hasnain, Fawad Ahmed.

Peshawar Zalmi: Kamran Akmal (wk), Imam-ul-Haq, Kieron Pollard, Sohaib Maqsood, Umar Amin, Nabi Gul, Darren Sammy (c), Wahab Riaz, Chris Jordan, Hasan Ali, Tymal Mills.

Prediction:

With a 3-0 head-to-head in PSL 2019, Gladiators will definitely take field as favourites in the final.