Quetta Gladiators take on Islamabad United in the 17th match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League in Dubai in the second fixture of the double-header on Friday.
The defending champions are heading into the match after losing two of their last three matches while Sarfraz Ahmed's men have been unbeaten in their last three games and are high on confidence after becoming the first team to qualify for the play-offs following their six-wicket win over Lahore Qalandars yesterday.
Islamabad would want their top-order to come good as they are facing a must-win situation with only two games to play. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq has shuffled his batsmen at the top but none of his combinations have worked in the last three matches except for Dwayne Smith's blistering starts.
Sam Billings was dropped for the last two games but his replacement Rafathullah Mohamand has not performed well either. Also, wicketkeeper-batsman has not crossed single figures after scoring 73 in the opening game.
Misbah will be hoping that the change of venue - from Sharjah to Dubai, will bring a change of fortunes as well. However, they are in for a tough test against Quetta, whom they defeated in the early-season meeting.
Quetta's batting looks settled as well with opener Ahmed Shehzad getting back to form with a solid half-century yesterday. Having already booked a place in the play-offs and with a game left after today's clash, Sarfraz would want to rest some of his key men, including Kevin Pietersen and keep the team ready for the knockout stages.
TV Schedule
Pakistan: Ten Sports, PTV, Geo Super
Sri Lanka: Ten Sports, CSN
UK: Prime TV
West Indies: Flow TV
Bangladesh: Gazi TV
UAE: OSN Sports
Team News
Quetta
Possible XI: Shafiq, Shehzad, Wright, Rossouw, Sarfraz (c & wk), Mahmudullah, Ali, Nawaz, Hasan, Mir, Mills
Islamabad
Possible XI: Misbah (c), Billings, Smith, Asif, Haddin (wk), Watson, Imran, Amad, Ajmal, Sami, Irfan
