During the 23rd match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2023, Peshawar Zalmi will take on the defending champions Lahore Qalandars at the Pindi Club Ground in Rawalpindi today, with the tournament graduallynearing its business end.
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Having lost just one of the seven matches they have played so far in the league, Qalandars have already booked their berth in their playoffs and will look to fine tune their areas of concern with eyes on second consecutive PSL title.
The Zalmi, on the other hand have performed in bits and pieces so far, having won and lost three matches apiece to currently find themselves at the fourth spot in the table. None of their batters or bowlers are presently placed in either of the top-5 list of highest run-scorer and wicket-takers in the league so far.
Pindi Club Ground pitch report today PSL matches
Slated to host a total of 11 PSL matches this season, the venue will host its fifth contest today. The lowest score for the team batting first at the Rawalpindi pitch so far has been 164/6, posted by the Karachi Kings against the Quetta Gladiators yesterday. The average first innings score at this venue so far in PSL 2023 has been 185.25.
The pacers, akin the matches here so far this season, are likely to get significant purchase off the pitch. Left-arm seamer Mohammad Amir bowled a couple of peach inswingers at this pitch itself to get rid of Zalmi’s opening batters in Mohammad Haris and skipper Babar Azam at the score of Duck.
Even during the match between Islamabad United and Quetta Gladiators at this venue last Sunday, the United left-arm pacer Fazalhaq Faaroqi (4-0-25-3) had got rid of three top-order Quetta batters with the new ball.
Having said that, the batters will likely be able to afford a smile throughout the remaining matches at this venue this season, with many more high-scoring contests likely to take place for the fans to relish.
Karachi, Quetta hopeful for a turnaround
With six losses apiece (as on Sunday) after seven and eight matches respectively, Quetta Gladiators and Karachi Kings have reached a phase where they cannot lose further matches in order to stand a chance to make it through to the playoffs.
In case the Zalmi manage to win a couple of matches (with four remaining), both these teams will automatically lose out on the playoffs berth. On the other hand, Lahore and Islamabad have already qualified for the playoffs.
