Qalandars hopeful for victory against Sultans in season opener

DUBAI: PSL team Lahore Qalandars will kick-off their Pakistan Super League campaign tonight with a match against new entrants to the tournament, Multan Sultans.

Lahore coach Aaqib Javed and star batsman Fakhar Zaman are hopeful for a victorious start in the third edition of PSL at Dubai Sports City cricket stadium tonight.

“Start is the key. A victorious start today is very important for us to start the tournament with high moral. First two matches are always important,” Aaqib told Geo.tv as the team reached the stadium for the match.

“All the teams are balanced, there is not much difference between the teams. All the matches are going to be close and every team has match winners, its just matter of them clicking. Lahore is more balanced this time than the previous last two years. Hoping for the best,” said the former Pakistani pacer who is also Qalandars director of cricket operations.

Opening batsman and hero of Pakistan’s Champions Trophy win against India last year, Fakhar Zaman says that Qalandars have analysed the strengths and weaknesses of Sultans ahead of the match.

“We saw Multan’s match last night and have analysed their strengths and weaknesses to form our strategy for the game. We are hoping for a good result tonight,” said the opening batsman.

Multan Sultans defeated defending champions Peshawar Zalmi in the opening game of PSL on Thursday night in Dubai.

However, Fakhar feels that Qalandars are going with a good combination and will achieve a positive result.

“Our combination is good and I am hoping for a good start tonight,” he said.