Lahore Qalandars take on Multan Sultans in Punjab Derby tonight

DUBAI: Lahore Qalandars play their first match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2018 against high-flying Multan Sultans in a much-awaited Punjab Derby tonight.

Multan Sultans marked their PSL debut with a seven-wicket win against title defenders Peshawar Zalmi in the opening match of the tournament on Thursday.

Kumar Sangakkara hit 57 and skipper Shoaib Malik scored a blistering 42 not out, chasing down Zalmi’s 151 comfortably and sending out a clear message to their opponents: they may be playing in the PSL for the first time, but they are fully prepared.

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Lahore Qalandars, reeling from a fresh blow as explosive batsman Chris Lynn was ruled out of the PSL with a shoulder injury, are looking to turn around their fortunes after finishing bottom of the table in both the earlier editions.

Skipper Brendon McCullum has said he is focused on gelling the players together so they can deliver as a unit. It won’t be an understatement to say the Qalandars have the Youngster of the Year in their arsenal this time: Shaheen Shah Afridi, who bagged 12 wickets in the recently held ICC U-19 World Cup.

Here's a look at the two teams:

Lahore Qalandars 

Head coach: Aqib Javed

Captain: Brendon McCullum

Squad: Brendon McCullum (c), Fakhar Zaman, Umar Akmal, Dinesh Ramdin, Anton Devcich, Bilal Asif, Cameron Delport, Bilawal Bhatti, Aamer Yamin, Ghulam Mudassar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mustafizur Rahman, Sunil Narine, Raza Hasan, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah

Spotlight 

Veteran Sunil Narine is deadly with his spin

Qalandars captain Brendon McCullum's dynamic captaincy is as intimidating as his performance with the bat

Young gun Shaheen Shah Afridi is fresh off the back of 12 wickets in U-19 Cricket World Cup 2018

All eyes will be on Mustafizur 'The Fizz' Rahman and his speed

Veteran Sunil Narine is deadly with his spin

Qalandars captain Brendon McCullum's dynamic captaincy is as intimidating as his performance with the bat

Multan Sultans 

Head coach: Tom Moody

Captain: Shoaib Malik

Squad: Shoaib Malik (c), Ahmed Shehzad, Darren Bravo, Abdullah Shafique, Saif Badar, Nicholas Pooran, Kumar Sangakkara, Sohaib Maqsood, Kashif Bhatti, Shan Masood, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Abbas, Umar Siddiq, Ross Whiteley, Imran Tahir, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Hardus Viljoen

Source : www.geo.tv/ 

Spotlight 

Shan Masood just had an impressive run in domestic cricket, and expectations are high

Sri Lankan legend Kumar Sangakkara is in the form of his life, with his 57 driving Multan Sultans' debut win in the opening match

PSL 2018 off to a great start: Wasim Akram

DUBAI: Former Pakistani skipper Wasim Akram tweeted on Friday that the Pakistan Super League 2018 was off to a great start.

Akram who is the director and bowling coach for Multan Sultans saw his team beat defending champions Peshawar Zalmi by seven wickets in the first match.

"Time to give our Pakistanis at home something to cheer about," Akram tweeted. Source : www.geo.tv/ 

Here's everything you need to know about PSL 3

As cricket fans from around the world get ready for the third edition of the Pakistan Super League, here’s a look at each franchise, their squads and their matches. 

Lahore Qalandars

Head coach: Aqib Javed

Captain: Brendon McCullum

Squad: Brendon McCullum (c), Fakhar Zaman, Umar Akmal, Dinesh Ramdin, Anton Devcich, Bilal Asif, Cameron Delport, Bilawal Bhatti, Aamer Yamin, Ghulam Mudassar, Mitchell McClenaghan, Mustafizur Rahman, Sunil Narine, Raza Hasan, Shaheen Afridi, Sohail Khan, Yasir Shah

Peshawar Zalmi

Head coach: Mohammad Akram

Captain: Darren Sammy

Squad: Darren Sammy (c), Tamim Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Andre Fletcher, Riki Wessels, Hammad Azam, Haris Sohail, Dwayne Bravo, Khushdil Shah, Umaid Asif, Saad Nasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shabbir Rahman, Liam Dawson, Sameen Gul, Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Asghar, Wahab Riaz

Spotlight 

Islamabad United

Head coach: Dean Jones

Captain: Misbah-ul-Haq

Squad: Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Alex Hales, Sam Billings, Mohammad Hasan, Chadwick Walton, Rohail Nazir, Luke Ronchi, Amad Butt, JP Duminy, Hussain Talat, Samit Patel, Andre Russell, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Samuel Badree, Steven Finn, Mohammad Sami, Rumman Raees, Zafar Gohar

Spotlight

Quetta Gladiators

Head coach: Moin Khan

Captain: Sarfraz Ahmed

Squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Rilee Rossouw, Jason Roy, Kevin Pietersen, Rameez Raja, Asad Shafiq, Shane Watson, Umar Amin, Mohammad Nawaz, Mahmudullah, Jofra Archer, Saad Ali, Saud Shakeel, Rashid Khan, Anwar Ali, Hassan Khan Mohammad, Mir Hamza, Rahat Ali

Spotlight 

Karachi Kings

Head coach: Mickey Arthur

Captain: Imad Wasim

Squad: Imad Wasim (c), Babar Azam, Joe Denly, Colin Ingram, Khurram Manzoor, Lendl Simmons, Saifullah Bangash, Eoin Morgan, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammed Taha, Tabish Khan, Ravi Bopara, Hasan Mohsin, Shahid Afridi, David Wiese, Usama Mir, Tymal Mills, Mohammad Amir, Usman Khan Shinwari

Spotlight

Multan Sultans

Head coach: Tom Moody

Captain: Shoaib Malik

Squad: Shoaib Malik (c), Ahmed Shehzad, Darren Bravo, Abdullah Shafique, Saif Badar, Nicholas Pooran, Kumar Sangakkara, Sohaib Maqsood, Kashif Bhatti, Shan Masood, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Abbas, Umar Siddiq, Ross Whiteley, Imran Tahir, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Umar Gul, Hardus Viljoen

Spotlight 

Fixtures

Feb 22, Thu:

Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans, Dubai *10:00 PM

Feb 23, Fri:

Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators, Dubai 4:30 PM

Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars, Dubai 9:00 PM

Feb 24, Sat:

Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi, Dubai 4:30 PM

Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars, Dubai 9:00 PM

Feb 25, Sun:

Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United, Dubai 4:30 PM

Karachi Kings vs Peshawar Zalmi, Dubai 9:00 PM

Feb 26, Mon:

Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars, Dubai 9:00 PM

Feb 28, Wed:

Islamabad United vs Quetta Gladiators, Sharjah 9:00 PM

Mar 01, Thu:

Quetta Gladiators vs Peshawar Zalmi, Sharjah 9:00 PM

Mar 02, Fri:

Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings, Sharjah 4:30 PM

Lahore Qalandars vs Islamabad United, Sharjah 9:00 PM

Mar 03, Sat:

Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators, Sharjah 4:30 PM

Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars, Sharjah 9:00 PM

Mar 04, Sun:

Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings, Sharjah 9:00 PM

Mar 06, Tue:

Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans, Dubai 9:00 PM

Mar 07, Wed:

Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators, Dubai 9:00 PM

Mar 08, Thu:

Islamabad United vs Lahore Qalandars, Dubai 4:30 PM

Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators, Dubai 9:00 PM

Mar 09, Fri:

Multan Sultans vs Lahore Qalandars, Dubai 4:30 PM

Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United, Dubai 9:00 PM

Mar 10, Sat:

Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings, Dubai 4:30 PM

Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators, Dubai 9:00 PM

Mar 11, Sun:

Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars, Dubai 9:00 PM

Mar 13, Tue:

Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United, Sharjah 9:00 PM

Mar 14, Wed:

Quetta Gladiators vs Lahore Qalandars, Sharjah 9:00 PM

Mar 15, Thu:

Peshawar Zalmi vs Karachi Kings, Sharjah 4:30 PM

Quetta Gladiators vs Islamabad United, Sharjah 9:00 PM

Mar 16, Fri:

Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalandars, Sharjah 4:30 PM

Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings, Sharjah 9:00 PM

Mar 18, Sun:

TBC vs TBC, Qualifier, Dubai 9:00 PM

Mar 20, Tue:

TBC vs TBC, Eliminator 1, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Mar 21, Wed:

TBC vs TBC, Eliminator 2, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Mar 25, Sun:

TBC vs TBC, Final, National Stadium, Karachi

*(All times in Pakistan Standard time)

Source : www.geo.tv/ 

Sanjay Kapoor spotted supporting Peshawar Zalmi at PSL 3 opening ceremony

DUBAI: Though Indian cricketers are not part of the third season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Bollywood actor Sanjay Kapoor travelled to watch the opening ceremony.

Speaking to Geo.tv, Kapoor said he was "glad to be part of the PSL 3", noting that the spirits in the stadium were high.

Sanjay, who is the brother of veteran actor Anil Kapoor, explained that he was in the city for his nephew's wedding, which was held two days prior in Dubai.

He then chose to stay back for the faceoff between Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans as his friend Javed Afridi, the owner of the Zalmi team, had extended a special invitation to him for this match.

Plus, the festive atmosphere in Dubai convinced him to prolong his visit.

Interestingly, both Sanjay and Afridi hail from Peshawar, where their ancestors resided. The actor mentioned that he likes watching cricket matches, regardless of which teams are playing.

The Bollywood star, therefore, was seen supporting Peshawar Zalmi, garbed in its colours and sporting the team's cap as well.

When asked about his favourite thing about Peshawar, he said it was the city's name.

Nevertheless, he seemed to be in a joyous mood. "Whether it be Pakistan or India, cricket is popular in both countries," he said, adding that at present, his favourite player is Virat Kohli since he is the best cricketer.

Source : www.geo.tv/ 

Ramiz Raja hopes for a Lahore Qalandars-Karachi Kings showdown in PSL final

DUBAI: Former Test captain-turned-commentator Ramiz Raja wants to see the final match of the Pakistan Super League's (PSL) ongoing edition between Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars.

Speaking to Geo News, Raja said, “I believe that we have not seen and have not ignited the rivalry between Lahore and Karachi since the time when my elder brother Waseem Raja used to play.

“I want the rivalry to be reignited as a massive cricketing talent comes through it.”

As the Qalandars had a tough time in the prior two seasons, Raja said they may actually win this season.

“I will give them a slight edge,” he said.

Responding to a question, Raja stated that the batting is the Pakistani national team's weak link and he hopes to see new talented batsmen entering the national squad via PSL.

“India improved in bowling; their team is balanced now. Previously, they were dependent on the batting, but, as their bowling is strong now, it is very difficult to beat them.

"I want new batsmen to come from PSL,” he said.

With the PSL getting bigger and better every season, Raja continued, the myth that Pakistan cannot look after good talent has been broken.

He said he would closely observe the performances of Shaheen Afridi, Sahibzada Farhan, Ibtisam Sheikh, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, and Hasan Ali during PSL 3.

.https://www.geo.tv/psl/latest/183246-ramiz-raja-hopes-for-psl-final-between-lahore-qalandars-karachi-kings

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I'd love to say thank you' to Mitchell Johnson for moustache inspiration: Wahab Riaz

While the cricket-loving Twitterati are talking about the new facial hairdo of Peshawar Zalmi's Wahab Riaz, the fast bowler seems to be enjoying his fans' reaction.

Geo.tv caught up with the sportsman at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium after his team lost to Multan Sultans in the first match of the Pakistan Super League's (PSL) third season.

Referring to the numerous comments and messages on social media, we asked him what his secret was behind the new style he was sporting today.

Smiling shyly, Riaz said this is his way of showing his new "motivation" to everyone.

"I wish I can properly do, once again, in this PSL series, what Wahab Riaz is known for — my character [role] as a fast bowler," he said.

"I hope it keeps reminding me of who I am, what I have to do in this tournament, and how I have to perform."When asked if Mitchell Johnson — a renowned Australian cricketer, who, like Riaz, is also a left-arm fast bowler — was the motivation behind his change of style, he responded in affirmative, noting how "Johnson is obviously the fastest bowler in the world".

"See, it's good to be inspired by anyone for anything that benefits you. And, if I'm inspired by Mitchell, then I’d love to say thank you to him."

The change, quite literally, came overnight, we observed. So we inquired if this was a preplanned move or done in the heat of the moment.

"I had planned this beforehand, and obviously, I did this makeover right before I was due to arrive for the match … changed my facial hair.

Continuously grinning, he went on to say: "I was quite scared and nervous when I came to the stadium because I knew people would take and share pictures [of my new style]."What made me apprehensive was people thinking I used my unique style as a show-off kind of thing," he added.

"However, I'm thankful to Allah that the match started good, and that I got the chance to tell people that it's an inspiration," Riaz mentioned.

As for his current aims, he stated, "My goal as a fast bowler is that I perform well, give as few runs as possible [to the opposing team], bag more and more wickets, play a good role for my team.

"Peshawar Zalmi is my team, I've been playing for them for two years and I've been enjoying it," he underscored, beaming with pride.

"I hope that I fulfil the responsibility — that I have on my shoulders — properly."

Sangakkara strikes 57 as Sultans beat Zalmi in PSL 2018 debut

DUBAI: Debutants Multan Sultans secured a comfortable win by seven wickets against defending champions Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League opener held here on Thursday.

Senior player Kumar Sangakkara scored a 57-run innings, which included three boundaries and two sixes. Sultans' skipper Shoaib Malik showed his stellar performance with a 42-run knock off 30, scoring two sixes and two fours.

Speaking after the match, former Sri Lankan skipper Sangakkara said: "I think the boys did really really well. We could have tightened it up a little bit, but Shoaib was just outstanding. He's such a great player." 

"I think you need a good mixture of young talent and experience and we've got that. Hopefully, it'll get better," he said.

Second innings 

Ahmed Shehzad was dismissed for a duck after he whipped a ball straight to deep fine leg. The opener had no control of the stroke he played on Wahab Riaz's delivery. Hammad Azam took the catch.

Source : www.geo.tv/