History speaks for the Gladiators, who are the current
cellar dwellers of PSL 2021.
Preview
Islamabad United had a torrid time in their first game after the resumption
of the fantasy cricket
2021 PSL. The Shadab Khan-led unit lost by five wickets at the hands of Sohail
Akhtar’s Lahore Qalandars, the current table toppers.
Though their bowlers did a decent job, their batters let the team down big
time. The United are next set to face the Quetta Gladiators, who are
languishing at the bottom of the points table.
However, Andre Russell’s inclusion means that the Gladiators have every
chance of climbing the ladder at the table. Sarfaraz Ahmed’s men can’t afford a
defeat by any means.
Match Details
Match – Islamabad United vs
Quetta Gladiators – 18th match
Venue – Sheikh Zayed
Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Time – 09:30 PM IST, 04:00
PM GMT
Where to watch live – Sony Sports Network, Sony LIV
Pitch Report
The pitch in Abu Dhabi turned out fantasy
cricket leagues to be a tad slow in Wednesday’s game. Shot-making was
tough and the spinners were hard to negotiate. Rotating the strike and then
going for the big shots should be the way forward.
The track has also favoured the team batting second. The temperature during
match time will be around 34 degrees Celsius with the humidity mostly in the
50s.
Avg first innings score: 162 (22 matches in IPL 2020 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium)
Record of chasing teams: Won – 13, Lost – 8, Tied – 1
Playing combination for ISL vs QUE
Islamabad United
Predicted XI
Usman Khawaja, Colin Munro, Rohail Nazir (wk), Shadab Khan (C), Iftikhar
Ahmed, Hussain Talat, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jr,
Fawad Ahmed
Bench: Muhammad Musa,
Zafar Gohar, Ali Khan, Akif Javed, Ahmed Safi Abdullah, Zeeshan Zameer, Brandon
King, Muhammad Akhlaq, Umar Amin
Quetta Gladiators
Predicted XI
Usman Khan, Saim Ayub, Faf du Plessis, Cameron Delport, Sarfaraz Ahmed (C
& WK), Azam Khan, Andre Russell, Jack Wildermuth, Mohammad Nawaz, Zahid
Mahmood, Mohammad Hasnain
Bench: Abdul Nasir, Anwar Ali, Arish
Ali Khan, Hassan Khan, Khurram Shehzad, Zahir Khan, Jake Weatherald, Usman
Shinwari
ISL vs QUE Head-to-Head
Overall
Played – 12 | Islamabad
United – 5 | Quetta Gladiators – 7 | N/R – 0
Probable best batsman of the match
Faf du Plessis—Quetta Gladiators
Faf du Plessis played three games in the first leg of PSL 2021 and managed
71 runs with a top score of 37. He’s likely to bat at number three with Usman
Khan and Saim Ayub being the probable opening batters.
Faf has a truckload of experience under his belt and he was in impressive
touch even in the 2021 IPL. A lot will depend on him if the Gladiators have to
do well.
Probable best bowler of the match
Hasan Ali—Islamabad United
Hasan Ali is currently the leading wicket-taker for the United in the 2021
PSL. With eight wickets, the speedster is sitting pretty at the top. Moreover,
he is also their most frugal bowler with an economy rate of 5.80.
In the previous match, the fast bowler picked up the crucial wickets of
Mohammad Hafeez and Ben Dunk and conceded 27 runs to go with 14 dot balls.
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