PSL preview – 3rd March 2019: Zalmi, Gladiators favourites in Playoffs race

With 10 points from 7 matches, Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators are one win away from as good as securing berths for the PSL 2019 Playoffs. They play each other next, at Abu Dhabi on March 4, and the winner of that contest will almost certainly finish in the top two. Gladiators have beaten Zalmi earlier in the tournament.

Islamabad United are third with 8 points while Lahore Qalandars and Karachi Kings have 6 each, but the Qalandars and the Kings have a match (they have played 7 each and United 8) in hand, which may make things interesting.

Even Multan Sultans, on 4 points from 8 matches, have a chance – for their remaining matches are against Qalandars and Kings. They have a chance to leapfrog past both teams to make it.

Here are how the teams stack up at this point:

Peshawar Zalmi: 7 matches, 10 points, NRR +0.852

After the all-important Gladiators match, Zalmi will have two easy contests, against Qalandars and Kings, both of whom they have thrashed in the tournament. Two wins will easily see them through, probably even in the top two.

Players to watch: Liam Dawson (ave 52, SR 129, econ 7.07), Kieron Pollard (SR 184, econ 6.75), Hasan Ali (ave 10, econ 6.14)

Quetta Gladiators: 7 matches, 10 points, NRR +0.085

Gladiators are behind Zalmi on net run rate, but they need not worry about that. They are likely to finish in the top two, which will make the net run rate redundant.

Gladiators play Zalmi, United, and Kings next. They have beaten the first two but lost to Kings in the tournament. All they need are two wins from these three matches.

Players to watch: Sarfaraz Ahmed (ave 67, SR 123), Sohail Tanvir (ave 14, econ 6), Fawad Ahmed (econ 6.60)

Islamabad United: 8 matches, 8 points, NRR +0.12

United have two matches left, and one of them are against the strong Gladiators, who have already beaten them. Their other match is against Qalandars, which may turn out to be a must-win contest for them if they lose to Gladiators.

Players to watch: Asif Ali (SR 170), Luke Ronchi (SR 163), Shadab Khan (econ 6.34)

Lahore Qalandars: 7 matches, 6 points, NRR -0.341

Qalandars have finished last in every single edition of PSL, and this is their best opportunity to put things straight. Three, even two wins, will see them through. Only one of their matches is against the top two, which makes them favourites for the Playoffs.

Players to watch: AB de Villiers (ave 55, SR 129), Sandeep Lamichhane (econ 5.81), Haris Rauf (econ 6.80)

Karachi Kings: 7 matches, 6 points, NRR -0.58

Two things put Kings at a disadvantage when pitted against Qalandars: first, they have to play both Zalmi and Gladiators; and secondly, they are behind Qalandars in net run rate.

They do have one match against bottom-ranked Sultans, but even Qalandars do that.

Players to watch: Colin Ingram (SR 160), Imad Wasim (SR 117, econ 6.29), Umer Khan (econ 7)

Multan Sultans: 8 matches, 4 points, NRR -0.119

Even if Multans beat both Kings and Qalandars, they will still have to wait for other matches. The only thing that may work in their favour is their net run rate, which is superior to both Kings and Qalandars. But despite that, qualification seems unlikely.

Players to watch: Shoaib Malik (ave 48, SR 113, econ 5.84), James Vince (SR 158), Mohammad Irfan (econ 6.75)

March 4: Gladiators vs Zalmi, Kings vs Sultans
March 5: Qalandars vs Zalmi, Gladiators vs United
March 7: Kings vs Zalmi
March 9: Qalandars vs United
March 10: Gladiators vs Kings, Qalandars vs Sultans