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PSL 2023 Predictions: Will Islamabad eliminate Peshawar?
Get ready for a showdown like no other!
It’s time for the Eliminator 1 match of the Pakistan Super League 2023, as Islamabad United will face off against Peshawar Zalmi at the magnificent Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan.
It’s a do or die match as one team will be eliminated from the tournament.
Peshawar Zalmi, with 5 wins and 5 losses, is placed at the 4th spot in the points table.
They have a lot to prove in this match and will come out all guns blazing.
Islamabad United, on the other hand, has had a slightly better run in the league, with 6 wins and 4 losses and is placed at the 3rd spot in the points table.
These two teams have faced each other twice in this season, with one victory each.
The first match was won by Islamabad United by six wickets, but Peshawar Zalmi was quick to take revenge and won the second match by 13 runs. The stakes are high, and both teams will leave no stone unturned to clinch the victory.
The skipper of Peshawar Zalmi, Babar Azam, was absent in their last league game due to illness. However, he is expected to return to the playing XI in the Eliminator 1, which is a big boost for his team.
When it comes to head-to-head, both teams have an equal number of wins against each other with 10 wins each.
Peshawar Zalmi’s batting order has been quite aggressive and posted good scores.
Babar, with 416 runs to his credit has been the top run-getter, with one hundred and four fifties in the competition.
Other notable batters include Tom Kohlmore scoring 309 runs with a strike rate of 172, Rovman Powell – 189 runs with a strike rate of 170, Saim Ayub – 309 runs at a strike rate of 168 and Mohammad Haris – 231 runs with with a strike rate of 198.
Wahab Riaz has been their best bowler, picking up 9 wickets while bowling at an average of 35 and an economy rate of 9.20.
Colin Munro has been the top run-scorer for Islamabad United with 294 runs, followed by Azam Khan, who has scored 236 runs.
Fazalhaq Farooqi has been their best bowler, picking up 10 wickets while bowling at an average of 15 and an economy rate of 7.93.
Last match form
Batting first, Peshawar put up a solid total of 179 runs on the board for the loss of just 8 wickets.
Mohammad Haris was in prime form for Peshawar hitting 79 runs from just 39 deliveries with 5 sixes and 7 fours.
Bhanuka Rajapaksa scored 41 runs from 25 balls with 4 fours and 2 sixes to help the rampaging Haris.
Khurram Shahzad was the best bowler for Peshawar picking up 3 wickets for 13 runs.
In reply, Islamabad United could muster 166 all out in 19.4 overs to go down by 13 runs.
Hasan Ali was the best bowler for Islamabad United picking up 3 wickets for 39 runs.
Pitch and weather
The pitch at the Gaddafi Stadium is batting-friendly, with little help for bowlers. However, given recent totals, fans can expect a high-scoring match on Thursday.
Chasing shouldn’t be the preferred option for teams as Lahore’s pitch hasn’t been kind to the team batting second. A fairly high-scoring match seems to be on the cards.
With no chance of rain and temperatures around 23-degree Celsius mark, fans can expect a thrilling match.
Islamabad United Playing XI
Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Hassan Nawaz, Sohaib Maqsood, Shadab Khan (c), Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali, Fazalhaq Farooqi
Peshawar Zalmi Playing XI
Saim Ayub, Mohammad Haris, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (c), Haseebullah Khan (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, James Neesham, Aamer Jamal, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Sufiyan Muqeem
Who will win
We got our last cricket prediction spot on by predicting that Multan will beat Lahore.
And this is what our experts feel regarding today’s match.
We are tipping the combo of Faheem Ashraf and Asif Ali to fire. If Shadab or Munro can support them, we expect Islamabad to post a big score of 180+.
Though Babar is returning to the Peshawar squad, Islamabad’s fearsome pace battery has the potential to dismantle the Zalmis.
We expect Babar to get out cheaply and Bhanuka Rajapaksa to shine, amongst the Peshawar batters.
Our prediction – Islamabad will win.
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Smriti Mandhana and Ellyse Perry star in RCB women’s comeback win against UP Warriorz in WPL 2024
RCB women overcame UP Warriorz by 23 runs to clinch their third win of the season. The home side outperformed Warriorz in all the facets of the game and emerged victorious. A collective team effort, particularly with the bat, helped RCB women to beat Warriorz for the second time in the season. They now have three wins in their five matches in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy won the toss and opted to field first. Given how things have panned out in the league so far, it needed a great batting performance from RCB to challenge the chasing side. The home side did exactly that. They were full of intent which was lacking in the last few games. Right from the start, S Meghana and Smriti Mandhana smashed the bowlers.
It was the night of the RCB skipper. The Southpaw scored 80(50) in her stay. S Meghana perished after a valuable 28(21). Ellyse Perry batted well and registered her first fifty of the WPL 2024. She was aided well towards the end by Richa Ghosh whose 21(10) propelled RCB to a score of 198 on the board. It was the highest team total in the WPL 2024.
Alyssa Healy’s efforts go in vain
Chasing the daunting total, UP Warriorz were off to a flier. The opening duo of Healy and Kiran Navgire gave a fiery start to the visiting side. When the two were batting in the PP overs, it seemed like the Warriorz could pull off an insane chase. However, Sophie Devine brought RCB back into the game with crucial wickets. At Bengaluru, the home crowd was literally behind the RCB women.
It helped the home side to stay calm and do their job with ease. Sophie Molineux and Asha Sobhana were the pick of the bowlers, who claimed 2/29 each in their spell of four overs. While Healy scored a fifty and Deepti tried her best in the death overs, ten daunting targets could not be chased down. Despite the early hiccups, RCB managed to restrict UP Warriorz to a score of 175 and won by 23 runs.
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WATCH: Ellyse Perry in disbelief as her six breaks car’s window
Ellyse Perry smashed a six in the match against UP Warriorz in the WPL 2024. It was an interesting six as the ball travelled towards the boundary ropes and fell exactly on the window of the car. As a result, the glass of the window was broken. The car is set to be provided as a reward for the player of the tournament.
It was the over of Deepti Sharma towards the last few moments of RCB’s innings. Before Perry struck, the home side was in a great position in the match, thanks to a great start provided by Smriti Mandhana. The star batter scored 80 (50) and shined in front of the home crowd. Her form helped RCB to have a good momentum towards the death overs.
Watch the viral video here –
ELLYSE PERRY HAS BROKE THE GLASS OF THE CAR…!!! 🤯
– The reaction of Perry was priceless!! pic.twitter.com/zaxiQLLN1r
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) March 4, 2024
Perry, who was struggling till that point, opened up and smashed the bowlers for fun. She went hard against the spinners like Rajeshwari Gayakwad and Deepti Sharma who were asked to bowl at the death. The right-handed batter smashed back-to-back sixes in the over of Sharma. One of those travelled towards the mid-wicket region where the car was stationed. The video of her shot has gone viral on X.
RCB teammates laugh, Ellyse Perry in disbelief
As the ball fell on the car and damaged the window, the fans erupted. There was no end to the joy of the fans who started chanting “Perry.. Perry..” and lit the atmosphere of the stadium. However, Perry was in disbelief. As she saw the impact of the ball damaging the car’s window, the Australian batter could not believe her eyes and thought about what she had just done.
On the other hand, the RCB teammates of Perry were in awe of the shot. They looked at the replays and appreciated the shot of Perry. At the same time, players like Sophie Molineux and Sophie Devine had a laugh about the car’s window getting damaged. Ellyse scored a fifty and helped her team score 198 runs with her batting in front of the home crowd.
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Praveen Kumar addresses Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer’s negligence of taking part in Ranji Trophy
Praveen Kumar has given his opinion on the preferences of Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer in recent times. The duo did not take part in the Ranji Trophy matches for their respective teams despite being fit. It did not go well with the Indian Cricket Board which landed the duo without a ventral contract which was announced a few days back.
Praveen Kumar has reacted to the issue recently. The former India pacer claimed that he has been of an opinion on the issue for a long time. Praveen felt that one should definitely earn money but not at the cost of neglecting to play for domestic and national teams. The right-arm pacer felt that players today are having a certain mentality which is not good.
The former pacer claimed that the players have a mindset that they can rest for a month before taking part in the IPL, thereby bypassing playing for their national team or the domestic teams. Praveen felt that the players could not resist letting go of money which they could earn by taking part in the IPL and other T20 leagues (For foreign players).
‘Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun’ – Praveen Kumar
“This thing is now firmly in the mind of players. Mai ek mahine pehle rest kar lunga, fir IPL khel lunga. Ye mentally hota hai, ki mai itne paise kaise chodun,” said Praveen in the interview. He claimed that youngsters these days are spoilt and are behind money. The former RCB pacer felt that it is not fair on the part of the young players to neglect the country over the IPL.
Kumar felt that a player needs to maintain a balance between playing for the IPL team and for the country. He felt that money is an important factor, but not at the cost of playing for the national team. “But this is not fair at all. A player needs to balance things. Money is important, but this (giving franchise cricket the priority) is wrong,” said the former Indian bowler in the interview.
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