The Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 is down to three teams and two matches. Defending champions Multan Sultans are already in the final. And on Friday, one more team (Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United) will bite the dust while another book a place for Sunday's title clash. (More Cricket News)
And the setting is Eliminator 2, with the winners getting a chance to end Mutlan Sultans' reign as the champions of Pakistan's T20 cricket league. The Mohammad Rizwan-led Sultans were the runaway leaders in the league stage, winning nine of the ten outings. The holders then humbled 2020 finalists Lahore Qalandars by 28 runs in the Qualifier. Nearly perfect so far.
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Now, Shaheen Afridi's Qalandars, by virtue of finishing in the top two in the league stage (six wins and four defeats), will get a second chance to make the final. And standing in their way are the most successful side in the PSL, Islamabad United -- the winners in 2016 and 2018.
In Eliminator 1, between the third and fourth-placed teams, the Shadab Khan-led United defeated Peshawar Zalmi by five wickets. Zalmi had lost out the second spot to Qalandars thanks to an inferior net run rate.
Head-to-head
Islamabad United lead Lahore Qalandars 9-5 in the PSL head-to-head record. But earlier in the PSL 7 season, Lahore Qalandars have completed a league double over Islamabad United, registering 8-run and 66-run wins.
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Key stats
Eliminator 2 will feature the season's highest scorer, Fakhar Zaman (584 runs) of Lahore Qalandars and the highest wicket-taker, Shadab Khan (18 wickets) of Islamabad United.
Match and telecast details
Match: Eliminator 2 of the Pakistan Super League 2022, Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United
Date: February 25 (Friday), 2022
Time: 8:00 PM IST/7:30 PM local
Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
TV Channels: Sony Sports Network
Live Streaming: SonyLIV
In Pakistan: A Sports, PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Daraz, Tapmad and Cricwick.
Elsewhere...
Willow TV (North America), Flow Sports (Caribbean), Sky Sports (United Kingdom), Sky Sport (New Zealand) and SuperSport (Africa).
Playing XIs in the previous match
Lahore Qalandars (vs Multan Sultans): Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hafeez, Harry Brook, Philip Salt (wk), David Wiese, Samit Patel, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan.
Islamabad United (vs Peshawar Zalmi): Alex Hales, Will Jacks, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan (wk), Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Liam Dawson, Hasan Ali, Athar Mahmood, Zahid Mahmood, Waqas Maqsood.
Squads
Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hafeez, Harry Brook, Samit Patel, Philip Salt (wk), David Wiese, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan, Ben Dunk, Fawad Ahmed, Dean Foxcroft, Matty Potts, Sohail Akhtar, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Maaz Khan, Akif Javed, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ahmed Daniyal, Syed Faridoun.
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Islamabad United: Will Jacks, Alex Hales, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan (wk), Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Liam Dawson, Hasan Ali, Athar Mahmood, Zahid Mahmood, Waqas Maqsood, Marchant de Lange, Zafar Gohar, Nasir Nawaz, Muhammad Musa, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Mohammad Huraira, Zeeshan Zameer, Muhammad Akhlaq, Mubasir Khan.
