PSL 11: United won the toss and elected to bowl first against Qalandars

KARACHI: In an exciting Pakistan Super League encounter, Islamabad United won the toss and chose to bowl first against Lahore Qalandars in Karachi.

Playing XI of Both sides

Lahore Qalandars XI: Mohammad Naeem, Abdullah Shafique, Rubin Hermann, Haseebullah Khan (wk), Sikandar Raza, Ryan Burl, Asif Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi (capt), Haris Rauf, Mustafizur Rahman, Ubaid Ullah

Islamabad United XI: Devon Conway (wk), Sameer Minhas, Mohammad Faiq, Mark Chapman, Shadab Khan (capt), Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Faheem Ashraf, Chris Green, Richard Gleeson, Salman Irshad

Pitch Report

According to Jess Crowe and Greg Blewett Pitch report, “It is an absolute scorcher of a day here in Karachi, with highs of 34 and currently sitting right at that mark. We have a slight breeze and humidity around 33%, making it a perfect day for an HBL PSL double-header. I’m very excited because I’m standing on a different surface today. Yesterday’s pitch was quite barren and led to a low-scoring game of 145, but we’ve moved over a couple of strips to one featuring Australian soil. Look at the grass on this little baby. That means pace and carry.

Yesterday was slow and the spin was sluggish, but with this soil and a bit of grass, I think the ball is going to carry through nicely to the keeper. Everyone will enjoy that – the bowlers and the batters alike. I actually think the grass will allow for a bit more spin, and sharper spin at that, making it a better all-around track. In terms of the dimensions, it’s still 64 meters to one side and 63 meters to my left. Straight down the ground is a bigger hit at 73 meters. The wind actually swung around just before I came out; it was hitting me in the face, but it’s starting to swing back the same way it did yesterday. This will likely be the scoring end for the batters. I’m expecting a much higher-scoring game today, which everyone, except maybe the bowlers, is excited about.”