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QG and LQ last faced each other in Karachi on 22 February 2021. Batting first in that game, QG lost early wickets to be reduced to 12 for 2. Thereafter, Chris Gayle and Sarfraz Ahmed got together in a 101-run stand for the 3rd wicket. But after both batsmen got out with the score reading 118 for 4 in the 15th over, it was left to Md Nawaz to hold things together. Under the circumstances, QG did well to reach a score of 178/6. Gayle with 68 from 40 balls was the top scorer, while Sarfraz Ahmed made 40 off 33 deliveries and M Nawaz scored 33 from 20 balls in other useful knocks. For LQ, Haris Rauf was the most impressive bowler with figures of 38 for 3. Shaheen Afridi, Daniyal and Rashid Khan took one wicket each.
When LQ replied, they were off to a flier, with a first wicket stand of 64 between Fakhar Zaman and Sohail Akhtar. Thereafter, Zaman and Hafeez saw the team home without further ado, with 10 balls to spare. Zaman top scored with 82 from 52 balls, while Hafeez made 73 from 33 balls. For QG, Zahid Mahmood took the lone wicket that fell.
LQ established their superiority in both bowling and batting. Most importantly. Their top order batting relied on domestic players, while QG had Gayle batting at number three. Gayle’s absence in the second leg will surely hurt QG.
Quetta Gladiators: Du Plessis, Usman Khan, Azam Khan, Sarfraz Ahmed, Nazir, Andre Russell, Md Nawaz, Qais Ahmed, Zahid Mahmood, Dale Steyn, Md Hasnain
Lahore have dominated the h2h comparison by winning four of the last five matches between the sides.
