Lahore Qalandars choose to field first against Peshawar Zalmi in PSL 11 match

LAHORE: Lahore Qalandars won the toss and elected to bowl first against Peshawar Zalmi in the 38th match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

The fixture brought together two sides with an extensive history in the tournament. The teams have faced each other 22 times in PSL history. Peshawar Zalmi hold a narrow advantage in the head-to-head record, having won 12 of those matches, while Lahore Qalandars, described as the holders, have won nine.

The toss decision meant Peshawar Zalmi were set to bat first in Lahore, while the home side opted to begin with the ball in hand in the latest contest between the two franchises.

Squads named for the match

Lahore Qalandars’ squad for the match included Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Abdullah Shafique, Sikandar Raza, Mohammad Naeem, Mustafizur Rahman, Haris Rauf, Usama Mir, Fakhar Zaman, Ubaid Shah, Haseebullah, Mohammad Farooq, Daniel Sams, Charith Asalanka, Asif Ali, Tayyab Tahir, Dunith Wellalage, Rubin Hermann, Maaz Khan, Ryan Burl and Shahab Khan.

Peshawar Zalmi named Babar Azam (c), Sufiyan Muqeem, Abdul Samad, Ali Raza, Aaron Hardie, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Haris, Khalid Usman, Abdul Subhan, Tanzid Hasan, Michael Bracewell, Kusal Mendis, Iftikhar Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Kashif Ali, Shahnawaz Dahani, Farhan Yousuf, Brian Bennett, Mohammad Basit and Shoriful Islam in their squad.

The match was scheduled as the 38th game of the ongoing PSL 11 season and was being played at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. The contest also added another chapter to a rivalry that has remained closely fought over the years, with Zalmi entering the game holding a slight statistical edge over Qalandars.

With Shaheen Shah Afridi leading Lahore Qalandars and Babar Azam captaining Peshawar Zalmi, both teams fielded squads featuring a mix of local and overseas players for the encounter.

It also identified Lahore Qalandars as the holders and noted Peshawar Zalmi’s marginal lead in previous meetings between the two teams.

Saturday’s game in Lahore was therefore set up as another important meeting between two established PSL sides, with Qalandars choosing to chase after winning the toss.