Quetta Gladiators will take on Peshawar Zalmi in the second match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022. The National Stadium in Karachi will host this encounter.Quetta Gladiators will be led by former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. He guided them to the PSL title in 2019 but had disappointing seasons in 2020 and 2021 as they failed to qualify for the playoffs. The Gladiators will be hoping for a much-improved performance in the upcoming edition of the PSL.

The batting lineup consists of Ahmed, Umar Akmal and Shimron Hetmyer. Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah and veteran Sohail Tanvir will lead the pace-bowling department. Shahid Afridi will miss out on a few games as he tested positive ahead of their opening game.Peshawar Zalmi, meanwhile, has put in a strong squad for the seventh edition of the PSL. Wahab Riaz has been handed the responsibility of leading the team and he will be looking to lead the side by example over the next few weeks.

Hazratullah Zazai, Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Sherfane Rutherford form a formidable batting unit. The experience of Kamran Akmal and Shoaib Malik will help them in the long run. Riaz will be leading the bowling attack and it remains to be seen how far they will go in the competition.

In the last five matches between the two teams, Quetta Gladiators have won one while Peshawar Zalmi have won 5. The last encounter between the two sides saw Peshawar Zalmi beat Quetta Gladiators by 61 runs.Sarfaraz Ahmed is the top run-scorer for Quetta Gladiators with 321 runs from his last 10 matches at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 137.Mohammad Nawaz has also made 109 runs from his last 9 matches. Mohammad Hasnain has been the best bowler for Quetta Gladiators and has picked up 9 wickets from his last 9 matches while bowling at an economy rate of 8.89 and a strike rate of 21.

Mohammad Nawaz has also picked up 6 wickets from his last 9 matches.Shoaib Malik is the top run-scorer for Peshawar Zalmi with 283 runs from his last 10 matches at an average of 35 and a strike rate of 150.Kamran Akmal has also made 238 runs from his last 10 matches.Wahab Riaz has been the best bowler for Peshawar Zalmi and has picked up 14 wickets from his last 9 matches while bowling at an economy rate of 8.20 and a strike rate of 15.Saqib Mahmood has also picked up 5 wickets from his last 2 matches.

QUETTA GLADIATORS VS PESHAWAR ZALMI MATCH DETAILS:

Match: Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi, Match 2, Pakistan Super League 2022
Date and Time: January 28th 2022, Friday, 07:30 PM IST
Venue: National Stadium, Karachi

QUETTA GLADIATORS VS PESHAWAR ZALMI PITCH REPORT

The pitch at the National Stadium is a balanced track. The new ball comes nicely onto the bat and the batters can play their strokes freely. The spinners will play a major role while bowling on this surface as it might get slower as the game progresses.

QUETTA GLADIATORS VS PESHAWAR ZALMI WEATHER FORECAST

Temperatures in Karachi are likely to range between 14 and 24 degrees Celsius. We expect a full game as there is no rain predicted on Friday.

PROBABLE TOP PERFORMERS

PROBABLE BEST BATTER OF THE MATCH:

HAZRATULLAH ZAZAI – PESHAWAR ZALMI

The left-handed batter was instrumental in taking Peshawar Zalmi to the finals last season. The southpaw slammed 212 runs in five games with his strike rate being in excess of 180. As the Karachi track is known to favour the batters, the Afghanistan international would back himself to get berserk against Quetta bowlers.

USMAN QADIR– PESHAWAR ZALMI

With the track being flat, leg-spinners would be the best options to take wickets and Usman Qadir is a good pick in this regard. The leggie can take wickets in the middle overs and his ability to restrict the scoring rate in the middle overs makes him even more effective. With a T20 World Cup taking place later this year, Qadir would be determined to make a significant mark.

QUETTA GLADIATORS VS PESHAWAR ZALMI MATCH PREDICTION

The Peshawar Zalmi have a strong batting lineup and if their batters start going, it will be hard for the Gladiators to stop them. It will be a good contest between the bat and the ball as both teams have some exciting players on their side.

Peshawar Zalmi look a more settled unit at the moment and are expected to come out on top on Friday.

PREDCTION: PESHAWAR ZALMI TO WIN THIS ENCOUNTER.