Islamabad United (Probable XI):Sahibzada Farhan, Alex Hales, Agha Salman, Haider Ali/Rassie van der Dussen, Azam Khan (wk), Mohammad Nawaz/James Neesham, Shadab Khan (c), Imad Wasim, Muhammad Shahzad, Naseem Shah, Ben Dwarshuis/Tymal Mills
Quetta Gladiators (Probable XI): Saud Shakeel (c), Avishka Fernando, Hasan Nawaz, Khawaja Nafay, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Danish Aziz, Faheem Ashraf, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Tariq, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Khurram Shahzad
Preview
After a 30-match-long league phase, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has entered its business end. Quetta Gladiators face the defending champions Islamabad United at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, in the Qualifier on Wednesday (May 21).
The winner will go straight through to the final, while the loser has another chance for a shot at the summit clash, with them locking horns with the winner of Eliminator 1 between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars in Eliminator 2.
Quetta were the table toppers with 15 points from 10 matches. They won seven and lost two games, while one of their matches had no result due to rain.
Islamabad finished second on the points table with 12 points from 10 matches, winning six and losing four.
Until the last league match, the United weren't confirmed a place in the top two. Thanks to their dominating win over Karachi Kings by 79 runs, after smashing 251 runs on the board, shows the purpose with which the Shadab Khan-led unit played that game, with the net run rate coming into the picture as the Kings, too, had the same number of points.
The Gladiators have won both fixtures between the two this season. The first match was a thriller, with Quetta moving past the finishing line in a last-over nail-biter by just two wickets. The second match was an utter domination from the table toppers as Quetta hammered the United by a whopping 109-run margin after posting 263 on the board.
Quetta are in the form of their life and haven't lost a single game in the last seven outings.
Islamabad broke their four-match winning streak in the last game against the Kings, before which the defending champions found themselves in a bit of trouble.
Who will take a step closer to the title? To know, join us at 6:30 PM Local Time on Wednesday for its live coverage!
Islamabad United Squad: Shadab Khan (c), James Neesham, Naseem Shah, Tymal Mills, Imad Wasim, Azam Khan (wk), Ben Dwarshuis, Agha Salman, Haider Ali, Salman Irshad, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Faiq, Rumman Raees, Saad Masood, Hunain Shah, Rassie van der Dussen, Alex Hales, Mohammad Shahzad, Sahibzada Farhan, Ghazi Ghouri (wk)
Quetta Gladiators Squad: Saud Shakeel (c), Avishka Fernando, Faheem Ashraf, Finn Allen (wk), Mohammad Amir, Abrar Ahmed, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Dinesh Chandimal (wk), Khurram Shahzad, Haseebullah Khan (wk), Gulbadin Naib, Khawaja Nafay, Usman Tariq, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Zeeshan, Ali Majid, Shoaib Malik, Danish Aziz