The 9th edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will kick off at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday, February 17 with the defending champions Lahore Qalandars taking on Islamabad United in the opener. The 2024 edition of the PSL has been making headlines for the number of pull-outs by overseas players in the last few days and its relevance because of being sandwiched between SA20, ILT20 and the IPL. However, it is still the third-most-valued cricket league in the world in terms of broadcasting rights after IPL and WPL and it is on the players, fans and the organisers to make it a success this year.
Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore pitch report
It is the start of the home season in Pakistan and hence will be a fresh wicket. A fresh wicket in Pakistan means only one thing - runs, runs and runs. The average score batting first in 21 T20Is played at the venue is 161, which shows that the batters have enjoyed their time in Lahore as it is generally a very true wicket and they get value for their shots. Both the Qalandars and United sides have powerful batting units and it might be a high-scoring match.
On flat wickets, the team which bowls better generally comes out on the top and that's where the Qalandars have the advantage with a bowling attack of that quality. They will miss Sikandar Raza for the opening game, who will be playing the International League T20 final in Dubai. However, with Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf and Zaman Khan forming the pace attack, the United batters will have to be at the top of their game.
The teams batting first have won 12 T20Is as compared to 9 of teams winning while batting second. Hence, flat wickets won't straight away mean that chasing is the best option because if the team batting first gets a huge score, the scoreboard pressure has become a huge factor in the last couple of years in T20 cricket.
