LQ vs QG 18th Match Prediction

LQ vs QG Team Previews

Lahore Qalandars

Lahore Qalandars will be led by Shaheen Shah Afridi, who will be supported by a talented squad that includes Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, and Rashid Khan. Lahore Qalandars had a solid outing in the previous season, finishing in fourth place on the points table. They seem to be building well on that as they look to build on that, apparent by their standings on the points table.

As it currently stands on the ladder, the Qalandars are placed at the top of the table, tied with Multan Sultans on points. They also have an advantage of having an extra game up their sleeve and that would allow them to retain their advantage, should they manage to register a win here too.

After scoring a terrific win over Multan Sultans in a nail-biting thriller, the Qalandars were rocked by Karachi Kings as they suffered a 67-run defeat. That defeat acted like a perfect wake-up call for the Qalandars as they displayed power-packed performances in all of their three subsequent matches. Most recently, they are coming off a massive win over Islamabad United, handing them a 110-run defeat.

Batting first on a beauty of a strip, the Qalandars batsmen wreaked havoc right from the very beginning with their middle-order carrying forward the work. Contributions right through the order ensured they put up a decent score on the board. They eventually ended up scoring 200 runs in total, which proved to be plenty. Just as it was with the bat, their bowling looked in complete control with everyone except, much to everyone's surprise, Shaheen Shah Afridi contributing. David Wiese was the pick of their bowlers as he returned with figures of 3-0-17-3.

All in all, Lahore Qalandars have a side with pretty much all bases covered. They have repeatedly notched higher than par scores and the bowlers have done immaculate job more often than not to clean up their opponents. In Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Rashid Khan, they have three of the world's best white-ball bowlers available and dealing with them is going to be challenging for all batsmen. They bat deep with Rashid Khan coming in at number eight, speaking volumes about the firepower and balance they have. If they are able to play to their potential here, getting past them is going to be next to impossible.

Quetta Gladiators

Quetta Gladiators are currently placed at the bottom of the points table, having scored just one win off a total of five matches played. Not only have they not managed to win, the losses they have conceded have been huge. It's pretty evident by their net run-rate as well, which currently stands at -1.977. The last time they tasted success was about a couple of weeks ago - in their second match wherein they just managed to sneak past Karachi Kings in a close encounter.

Since then, it has gone all downhill for the Gladiators and they are certain to be running low on confidence. In their most recent match, they were romped by Azam Khan's brilliance as Islamabad United handed Gladiators a 63-run defeat. Gladiators were dismal in all three departments of the game as only Mohammad Hafeez, Safaraz Ahmed, and Iftikhar Ahmed looked in a bit of control.

On paper, Quetta Gladiators have a side loaded with experience but they seem to be playing with a dated template. Despite having Jason Roy and Martin Guptill at the top, the starts they have gotten have been poor to say the least. Their middle-order has looked good, but with not enough reliability in the lower order, the likes of Hafeez, Sarfaraz, and Iftikhar have been circumspect. Bowling-wise, they lack sharpness and experience as apparent in their game against Islamabad United.

Overall, nothing seems to be working for Quetta Gladiators at the moment. They do not have a side as bad as they have done and the results have just taken away their confidence. They will now be up against one of the best sides of the competition and that is not going to be easy. Unless the Gladiators are able to play out of their skins, getting past them is going to be a very challenging affair.