Lahore Qalandars vs Peshawar Zalmi Match Prediction

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Lahore Qalandars have suffered a huge blow, after AB de Villiers was ruled out of the rest of the Pakistan Super League with a back injury. Brendan Taylor has already also been ruled out, with Ryan ten Doeschate replacing him in the squad, and the Dutchman could therefore slot straight in.

Aizaz Cheema replaced Shaheen Afridi last time out but was expensive with the ball, and – if fit – Afridi could return to face Zalmi. Afridi had previously replaced Rahat Ali in the bowling attack. At the top of the batting order, meanwhile, disgraced former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has been overlooked for Haris Sohail in recent matches.

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The loss of AB de Villiers will hit Lahore hard. He top-scored in the defeat to Karachi Kings last time out and hit 218 runs from seven matches, at an average of 54.50. The South African superstar’s form worldwide has been excellent, following big contributions in the Bangladesh Premier League and Mzansi Super League too.

Fakhar Zaman has 183 runs so far in PSL 2019, however, including two half-centuries, and is a key figure at the top of the order for the Qalandars. He can lead the batting in De Villiers’ absence.

With the ball, Haris Rauf moved to 11 wickets from seven games with an economy rate of 6.80 runs per over, but Sandeep Lamichhane is hot on his heels. The Nepalese spinner took 2-17 from his four overs against Karachi Kings and now has ten wickets from just four games with an economy rate of less than a run a ball.

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Lahore Qalandars have failed to find any consistency so far, losing four of their seven matches. They lost to Karachi Kings last time out, but they have bounced back from all three of their other defeats with a win.

Last time they faced Peshawar Zalmi, for example, they were bowled out for 78 on their way to a seven-wicket defeat but responded by chasing 201 to beat Multan Sultans by six wickets off the final ball; AB de Villiers (52*) and Fakhar Zaman (63) were the key men in that chase.

De Villiers then hit an unbeaten 45 against Quetta Gladiators but they could not defend 143/7, falling to a three-wicket defeat. Again, however, they bounced back – Sandeep Lamichhane taking 4-10 as the Gladiators were dismissed for 106 in their second meeting before De Villiers hit 47* in an eight-wicket win.

Last time out, however, they struggled to 133/5 against Karachi Kings and, despite more excellent bowling from Lamichhane, they fell to a five-wicket defeat in the final over.