LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi won the toss and chose to bowl first against Quetta Gladiators in the 17th match of the Pakistan Super League 10th edition (PSL X) at Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday.
Zalmi have lost three of their four matches this season and secured their only win over Multan Sultans. All eyes have been on Zalmi skipper Babar Azam, who has been consistently performing in PSL X, in Sunday’s encounter against Gladiators.
Zalmi said it was “time to shine” in a post on Instagram as their skipper said they were going in with a clear approach.
“Our approach is clear — smart cricket, sharp mindset, and full fight,” Azam said after winning the toss. “Every moment, every move, with one goal in mind.”
Gladiators, on the other hand, draw confidence from their solid 80-run win over Zalmi in the PSL X opener, which gives them a psychological edge in Sunday’s encounter.
However, the Saud Shakeel-led side has failed to maintain consistency since their win against Zalmi and secured a narrow victory against Karachi Kings by defending a modest total of 142.
Fans anticipated a tough battle between Gladiators’ superior bowling line-up and Zalmi’s hard-hitting batsmen.
SQUADS
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Mohammad Haris, George Linde, Mohammad Ali, Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana, Abdul Samad, Arif Yaqoob, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem, Najibullah Zadran, Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat, Mitchell Owen, Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph, Ihsanullah
Quetta Gladiators: Saud Shakeel (c) Finn Allen, Faheem Ashraf, Mark Chapman, Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Rilee Rossouw, Akeal Hossein, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Khawaja Nafay, Usman Tariq, Haseebullah Khan, Khurram Shahzad, Kyle Jamieson, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Zeeshan, Danish Aziz, Kusal Mendis and Sean Abbott
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PSL X: Peshawar Zalmi lock horns with Quetta Gladiators at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium
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PSL X: Peshawar Zalmi lock horns with Quetta Gladiators at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium
- Zalmi have lost three of their four matches this season and secured their only win over Multan Sultans
- Gladiators, on the other hand, draw confidence from their solid 80-run win over Zalmi in PSL X opener
Real Madrid to play Benfica, PSG face Monaco in Champions League play-offs
- Real Madrid were handed a quick rematch with Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the draw for the Champions League play-off round on Friday, while reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain will face dome
PARIS: Real Madrid were handed a quick rematch with Jose Mourinho’s Benfica in the draw for the Champions League play-off round on Friday, while reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain will face domestic rivals Monaco.
Benfica beat Real 4-2 in their final game of the league phase on Wednesday, with a 98th-minute goal by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin proving decisive in allowing the Portuguese side to snatch the last play-off spot ahead of Marseille, who were eliminated altogether.
The defeat also nudged Madrid out of the top eight places in the league standings, which give direct access to the last 16, forcing them into this extra round.
Benfica staged a remarkable recovery to take a play-off place — they finished 24th in the 36-team league phase, the last qualifying spot — by winning three of their last four matches after losing their opening four games.
Mourinho, 63, returned to the Lisbon giants for a second spell as coach in September. He was in charge of Real from 2010 to 2013 and won one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey while also taking them to the Champions League semifinals in each of his three campaigns.
The clubs played each other in the 1962 European Cup final, with Benfica winning 5-3 to claim the last of their two titles to date.
PSG slipped out of the top eight after winning only one of their last five outings in the league phase and finishing in 11th place.
They will go to Monaco for the first leg and will be wary of the principality side who beat them there in Ligue 1 in November.
However, 2004 Champions League finalists Monaco have been in poor form, with just one win in six games since the turn of the year.
They are 10th in Ligue 1, 21 points behind leaders PSG. However, a 0-0 draw with Juventus on Wednesday allowed them to secure a play-off place in Europe.
Newcastle go to Azerbaijan
PSG also beat French opposition in the play-off round last season, hammering Brest 10-0 on aggregate before going on to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.
Elsewhere, Newcastle United will be strong favorites against surprise packages Qarabag of Azerbaijan, with the first leg to come in Baku.
PSG and Newcastle know that if they win, they will play either Barcelona or Chelsea in the last 16. Real’s possible last-16 opponents are Manchester City or Sporting, which would mean yet another trip to Lisbon in the latter case.
Bodo/Glimt, Norwegian champions in four of the last six years, were also surprise qualifiers for this stage and have been rewarded with a tie against last season’s runners-up Inter Milan.
Juventus will take on Galatasaray, while Atletico Madrid face Club Brugge. Borussia Dortmund play Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen were drawn against Olympiacos.
The two-legged play-off ties will take place in February, with the winners advancing to the last 16 in March.
Already through to that stage are the top eight teams from the league phase, including five English Premier League sides in Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and City, as well as Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Sporting.
This season’s Champions League final will be played in Budapest on May 30.
Benfica beat Real 4-2 in their final game of the league phase on Wednesday, with a 98th-minute goal by goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin proving decisive in allowing the Portuguese side to snatch the last play-off spot ahead of Marseille, who were eliminated altogether.
The defeat also nudged Madrid out of the top eight places in the league standings, which give direct access to the last 16, forcing them into this extra round.
Benfica staged a remarkable recovery to take a play-off place — they finished 24th in the 36-team league phase, the last qualifying spot — by winning three of their last four matches after losing their opening four games.
Mourinho, 63, returned to the Lisbon giants for a second spell as coach in September. He was in charge of Real from 2010 to 2013 and won one La Liga title and one Copa del Rey while also taking them to the Champions League semifinals in each of his three campaigns.
The clubs played each other in the 1962 European Cup final, with Benfica winning 5-3 to claim the last of their two titles to date.
PSG slipped out of the top eight after winning only one of their last five outings in the league phase and finishing in 11th place.
They will go to Monaco for the first leg and will be wary of the principality side who beat them there in Ligue 1 in November.
However, 2004 Champions League finalists Monaco have been in poor form, with just one win in six games since the turn of the year.
They are 10th in Ligue 1, 21 points behind leaders PSG. However, a 0-0 draw with Juventus on Wednesday allowed them to secure a play-off place in Europe.
Newcastle go to Azerbaijan
PSG also beat French opposition in the play-off round last season, hammering Brest 10-0 on aggregate before going on to lift the trophy for the first time in their history.
Elsewhere, Newcastle United will be strong favorites against surprise packages Qarabag of Azerbaijan, with the first leg to come in Baku.
PSG and Newcastle know that if they win, they will play either Barcelona or Chelsea in the last 16. Real’s possible last-16 opponents are Manchester City or Sporting, which would mean yet another trip to Lisbon in the latter case.
Bodo/Glimt, Norwegian champions in four of the last six years, were also surprise qualifiers for this stage and have been rewarded with a tie against last season’s runners-up Inter Milan.
Juventus will take on Galatasaray, while Atletico Madrid face Club Brugge. Borussia Dortmund play Atalanta and Bayer Leverkusen were drawn against Olympiacos.
The two-legged play-off ties will take place in February, with the winners advancing to the last 16 in March.
Already through to that stage are the top eight teams from the league phase, including five English Premier League sides in Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and City, as well as Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Sporting.
This season’s Champions League final will be played in Budapest on May 30.
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