LQ vs PZ 2nd Eliminator Match Prediction

LQ vs PZ Team Previews

Lahore Qalandars

The Lahore Qalandars were the best team during the group stages where they were the first teams to qualify for the playoffs and finished at the top of the table. They won 6 of their first 7 matches. However, they have faltered a bit during the last couple of weeks, losing 3 of their last 4 matches, including Qualifier 1 against the Multan Sultans.

Fakhar Zaman is in red-hot form for the Qalandars this season and has scored a total of 384 runs, including a century and 2 half-centuries. However, he fell cheaply against the Multan Sultans during Qualifier 1, and the team will be banking on him to put in a better performance here.

The other top-order batsmen, including Mirza Baig, Abdullah Shafique, and Sam Billings have performed well in patches. A good performance from them in this match will take plenty of load off Zaman’s shoulders. The presence of all-rounders like Sikandar Raza, David Weise, and Hussain Talat adds depth to the Qalandars’ batting.

The Qalandars have plenty of strength in their seam attack, as Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan, and skipper Shaheen Afridi, all are in good form. However, the team does lack a bit in the spin department as Rashid Khan is the only specialist spinner in the line-up.

The Qalandars have a well-balanced line-up but will need to put the recent setbacks behind them and take the field with a positive frame of mind here.

Peshawar Zalmi

The journey of Peshawar Zalmi has been quite opposite to that of the Qalandars during the group stage. They have lacked consistency in their performances but have done enough to scrape through and manage a 4th place finish in the end. Peshawar faced Islamabad United in the Eliminator and managed to hold their nerves right till the end, as they won the match by 12 runs.

The batsmen at the top of the order have batted well for Peshawar, with skipper Babar Azam leading from the front. Babar has scored 5 half-centuries and a brilliant century to score a total of 480 runs so far. Saim Ayub too is in good form and together, the duo has put up some excellent opening partnerships.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Mohammad Haris have been pretty solid in the middle order. However, the all-rounders lower down the order, James Neesham and Azmatullah Omarzai haven’t been able to get going and failed to lift the team’s total during the death overs.

The bowling has been a weak link for Peshawar this season. Wahab Riaz, their most experienced bowler, has picked up just 9 wickets in 10 matches, while the others, including Omarzai and Aamer Jamal, have been very expensive. Peshawar has conceded more than 150 runs in each of the 11 matches they have played this season and they have given away more than 200 runs in 4 of those matches, which speaks volumes about the lack of quality of bowling.

While the batsmen have performed well, it is the bowlers who will need to step up if Peshawar wants to make it to the finals.