Gladiators, United in tough spot for HBL PSL knockouts

• Defending Champions sit at bottom of the table.
• Six games to be played in the tournament before playoff and eliminators.

The season five of the Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) is not short of surprises as the defending Champions Quetta Gladiators and Islamabad United are on the verge of being eliminated from the tournament with six matches to go.

Currently they sit at the bottom of the points table, which is very hard to digest if you are a Quetta fans, especially if we look at their recent run in previous editions of the tournament. In this campaign they have already played eight matches and lost five of them.

Now they are set to face Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans, who have played seven matches each and sit at fifth and first place respectively on the points table. In order to qualify for the playoffs for fifth straight year, they must win both games.

Sultans are on a dream run in this season of the tournament, as they almost secured their place in top four with 11 points and three matches remaining. They will face the Gladiators (March 11), Peshawar Zalmi (March 13) and Lahore Qalandars (March 15).

Meanwhile, Karachi Kings have some ups and downs in the tournament, as they secure seven points from their seven matches so far, which is a worry for them. They need a victory or too in order to book a place in top four. Kings have to face Qalandars (March 12), Islamabad United (March 14) and Gladiators (March 15). Interestingly their remaining matches are against the teams who are also fighting for a spot in top four.

If we talk about, Lahore Qalandars, who sit at the third spot in the points table, made the tournament even interesting by completing a hat-trick of victories. They played eight games in this campaign and secure eight points from them including victories over the Gladiators. To reach their first ever playoffs, they will have to win at least a game.  They will play against the Kings (March 12) and the Sultans (March 15)

The story of two-time HBL PSL champions Islamabad United is the same as the Gladiators. Rain affected games, poor performance and unable to deliver at crunch moments sums up their campaign so far. Seven points from nine games is quite disappointing for a side, who won the tournament twice. With a game remaining against Karachi Kings (March 14), United still be relying on results of other teams even if they win their last game. Victory in the game means, they will finish with nine points, which would not be enough, if either Karachi or Quetta win two games.

Peshawar Zalmi, as always find themselves secure as compared to other sides. They have managed to bag nine points from nine games with a game remaining against table topper Sultans. Even a draw will see both sides in playoffs.

Interestingly, with six games remaining in the round, still it is difficult to determine the top four sides for eliminators and playoff.