Dubai: The first round of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) ended at Dubai International Stadium with Quetta Gladiators being the only team to remain unbeaten. The scene now shifts to Sharjah Cricket Stadium with teams that were slow off the blocks wanting to correct their mistakes and bounce back strongly while Quetta hopes to extend their winning run.
Inspired by the legendary West Indies batsman Viv Richards as mentor and batting coach and Moeen Khan as head coach, Quetta looks determined to emerge as the best. Quetta captain Sarfraz Ahmad, who has been appointed as skipper of Pakistan for both One Day Internationals as well as Twenty20 Internationals, will also want to underline his credentials by winning the PSL this year.
After winning the first match against Lahore, Sarfraz said: “The motivation from the support staff is helping the team and we want to win it this time.”
Defending champions Islamabad has been labelled as an ageing team. Led by 42-year-old Misbah ul-Haq, Islamabad won the opening match against Peshawar Zalmi to prove they are a champion team. However, the defeat to Lahore in their second match was disappointing. Misbah, the inspiring leader that he is, showed that he is a fighter with an unbeaten 61 against Lahore.
This team which has Shane Watson, Saeed Ajmal, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Sami and Brad Haddin — all over 35 years old but are players who can win matches even now. Haddin, now 39, is batting brilliantly — showing no signs of an ageing cricketer. The support staff made up of Dean Jones (head coach), Wasim Akram (team director), Tauseef Ahmad (assistant coach) know what it takes to win matches. The loss of hard-hitting opener Sharjeel Khan, who has been suspended for alleged spot-fixing, is a big blow to the team though.
Peshawar has recovered well after their first defeat to Islamabad, mainly due to the form of England skipper Eoin Morgan and opener Dawid Malan. Darren Sammy as captain has been inspiring and the return of Mohammad Hafeez as a bowler has helped them too. Hasan Ali, their 23-year-old pacer has been spot on and played a vital role in their low scoring match win over Lahore on Sunday.
Lahore has undoubtedly the best batting line-up on paper. The in-form Jason Roy and Brendon McCullum showed how destructive they can be as openers. They have also a mingy bowler in Grant Elliott, who through a four-wicket spell, was responsible for their win over Islamabad. The team hasn’t blossomed to its full strength, but will be the one to watch in Sharjah.
It has been a bad start for Karachi Kings, which has lost both their matches. It is surprising why such a formidable batting line up made up of Chris Gayle, skipper Kumar Sangakkara, Babar Azam, Kieron Pollard, Shoaib Malek and Ravi Bopara is unable to fire. Sangakkara feels their winning run is about to begin soon and this team is tying up some loose ends.
Team M W L Tie NR Pts
Peshawar 3 2 1 0 0 4
Quetta 2 2 0 0 0 4
Lahore 3 1 2 0 0 2
Islamabad 2 1 1 0 0 2
Karachi 2 0 2 0 0 0
