Lahore Qalandars opt to bat first against Quetta Gladiators in PSL 11 encounter

Three-time champions Lahore Qalandars won the toss and opted to bat first against Quetta Gladiators in the 26th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at the National Bank Stadium Karachi on Friday.

Playing XIs

Lahore Qalandars: Mohammad Naeem, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Charith Asalanka, Haseebullah (wk), Sikandar Raza, Daniel Sams, Mohammad Farooq, Shaheen Shah Afridi (c), Usama Mir and Haris Rauf.

Quetta Gladiators: Shamyl Hussain, Saud Shakeel (c), Rilee Rossouw, Hassan Nawaz, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Bevon Jacobs, Jahandad Khan, Saqib Khan, Alzarri Joseph, Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq.

Head-to-head

Qalandars and Gladiators have come face-to-face 21 times in the history of the marquee league, and the holders dominate the head-to-head record with 11 victories, while the 2019 champions have nine triumphs, as one fixture ended in no result.

Their last meeting came in the final of the landmark 10th edition, which the Qalandars won by six wickets to clinch their third PSL title.

Matches: 21

Lahore Qalandars: 11

Quetta Gladiators: 9

No Result: 1

Form guide

The Qalandars and Gladiators enter the fixture with not all but similar momentum as both the previous edition's finalists have four points each in their arsenal, with the latter having played a game more.

The Gladiators started their PSL 11 campaign with a narrow 14-run defeat at the hands of Karachi Kings before inflicting a thumping 40-run defeat on debutants Hyderabad Kingsmen.

The 2019 champions, however, failed to stretch the winning run and suffered back-to-back losses against Islamabad United and Multan Sultans, respectively.

They registered their second triumph against bottom-placed Rawalpindiz before enduring a gruelling defeat at the hands of leaders Peshawar Zalmi.

Qalandars, on the other hand, had a spirited start to their campaign as they won two of the first three fixtures against Kingsmen and Sultans but suffered back-to-back defeats against United and Zalmi, which pushed them down to the seventh position in the standings.

Quetta Gladiators: L, W, L, L, W (most recent first)

Lahore Qalandars: L, L, W, L, W