DAWN.COM

Today's Paper | May 06, 2024

Updated 27 Feb, 2018 09:55am

Qalandars vs Sultans: Can the league newcomers make it two wins out of two?

Confident after yesterday's unexpected seven-wicket win, Multan Sultans are going to face Lahore Qalandars in the third fixture of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) to be played in Dubai on Friday evening.

Though the Sultans are the new team on the block, their ability to ruffle the opponents' feathers was apparent in the PSL 2018's opening match.

On the other hand, Lahore Qalanders — who have been arguably the competition's worst side in the past two seasons — have now bolstered their line-up with the addition of Australian batsman Chris Lynn and left-handed Mustafizur Rehman among other measures.

Today's match is likely to be a tough fight as the Sultans have already shown their strength and the Qalandars are also expected to show their maximum potential.

A glance at Multan Sultans' compositions shows that they have assembled a sharp looking squad, leaving almost no loopholes. T20 veteran Shoaib Malik is leading the squad. The team is also equipped with run-machines like Pollard, Ahmed Shehzad, Darren Bravo, Kumar Sangakkara, Sohaib Maqsood and globetrotter Tanvir. With this composition, batting is their strongest suit.

Similarly, the Qalandars seem to be fully prepared for the challenge ahead. To overcome their shortcomings — resulting in an average performance in the PSL 2017 — the Qalandars with the help of Shoaib Akhtar have nurtured a fine blend of both batting and bowling. The core of their side is comprised of Brendon Mccullum, Umar Akmal, Sunil Narine, Fakhar Zaman, Yasir Shah and Chris Lynn. Teenage sensation Shaheen Shah Afridi and left-handed Mustafizur Rehman have made the bowling attack of the team more sharpen than before.

Squads:

Multan Sultans

Shoaib Maik (captain), Ahmed Shehzad, Sohaib Maqsood, Abdullah Shafiq, Darren Bravo, Saif Badar, Umar Siddiq, Shan Masood, Sohail Tanvir, Kieron Pollard, Kashif Bhatti, Ross Whiteley, Kumar Sangakkara, Nicholas Pooran, Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Imran Tahir (cover: Thisara Perera), Irfan Khan, Mohammad Abbas, and Hardus Viljoen.

Lahore Qalanders

Brendon McCullum (captain), Cameron Delport, Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar, Chris Lynn, Aamer Yamin, Bilawal Bhatti, Bilal Asif, Anton Devcich (replaced Angelo Mathews), Umar Akmal, Gulraiz Sadaf, Sohail Khan, Sunil Narine, Yasir Shah, Ghulam Mudassar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Raza Hasan, Mustafizur Rahman (cover: Dinesh Ramdin), Shaheen Afridi and Imran Khan.

Read Comments

Pakistani lunar payload successfully launches aboard Chinese moon mission Next Story