Eliminator 1: Karachi Kings Opt To Bat First Against Lahore Qalandars

Abdullah Hussain (@Abdulla99267510) Published May 22, 2025 | 07:34 PM

Both Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars are quite excited in Eliminator 1 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore tonight

LAHORE: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-May 22^nd, 2025) David Warner-led Karachi Kings won the toss and opted to bat first against Lahore Qalandars in Eliminator 1 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Thursday (tonight).

The match is set to start at 7.30pm PKT tonight.

While, Shaheen Shah Afridi’s Lahore Qalandars are on the hunt for their third HBL PSL title, the Kings, who finished fifth in 2023, 2024 and sixth in 2022, have their sights set on a second HBL PSL title.

The two teams have faced each other HBL PSL history 21 times with Karachi Kings winning 14 matches, while Qalandars have won only seven.

In the ongoing season, both the teams have won one each in the league-stage as the 15 April game at the National Bank Stadium saw Qalandars winning by a thumping 65-run margin. In the second clash of the season Karachi Kings outfoxed Qalandars in a rain-hit 15-over fixture by four wickets.

For the Kings, James Vince has been one of the star performers having accumulated 374 runs in 10 matches at a strike rate of 152 and with the ball Mohammad Abbas Afridi has eked out 17 scalps – the most so far in the season, in as many matches.

Fakhar Zaman has been the lynchpin of Lahore’s batting with 369 runs at a strike rate of 155, while Haris Rauf has taken 12 wickets.

The high-stakes Eliminators 1 tonight will see one of the teams facing Islamabad United tomorrow, while the loser’s campaign will come to an end.

Playing XIs:

Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Naeem, Abdullah Shafique, Kusal Perera (wicketkeeper), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shakib Al Hasan, Asif Ali, Shaheen Afridi (captain), Salman Mirza, Zaman Khan, Haris Rauf

Karachi Kings: David Warner (captain), Tim Seifert (wicketkeeper), James Vince, Saad Baig, Khushdil Shah, Irfan Khan Niazi, Mohammad Nabi, Fawad Ali, Abbas Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza