The Pakistan Super League is approaching a critical phase with the fight for four playoff spots intensifying.
Defending champions Lahore Qalandars became the first team to qualify for the playoffs after they defeated Multan Sultans by 21 runs on Saturday.
Lahore have won six of seven matches already, which was enough to ensure passage into the next round.
Against Multan, Sam Billings (54) and Abdullah Shafique (48) lifted Lahore’s total to 180-9.
Leg-spinner Rashid Khan landed the knockout blow during Multan’s chase with 3-15 as last year’s runners-up were restricted to 159-7.
On Sunday, Islamabad United became the second team to qualify for the playoffs after they secured a tense two-wicket win over Quetta Gladiators.
That leaves four teams to fight it out for the two remaining spots in the next stage of the tournament.
PSL 2023 playoffs qualification scenario
While Lahore and Islamabad are definitely through, other teams still have a shot of making it to the next round.
Multan have four wins from seven games and have room to manoeuvre as they need just one more win from three games to progress.
Peshawar Zalmi have three wins and as many defeats, which means they are still firmly in the race. However, Karachi Kings (two wins, six defeats) and Quetta (one win and six losses) are in a precarious position.
Last year, Islamabad qualified for the next phase with four wins and six defeats. They edged out Quetta in the playoffs race by a fraction on net run rate, with both sides tied on number of wins and defeats.
That means either Karachi or Quetta can make the cut this year if they achieve four wins by the end of the opening stage, provided Multan and Peshawar don't reach five wins. Peshawar and Multan face each other on Friday.
But no matter how the qualification race pans out, it is clear Quetta have fallen off a cliff. They started PSL as the strongest team, finishing as runners-up in the first two seasons and winning the fourth. However, in the past three seasons the Gladiators have finished either dead last or second last.
Quetta and Karachi will know on Monday if their disappointing PSL campaigns has any life left when they face off in a bottom-of-the-table clash.
Remaining fixtures of PSL 2023
March 6: Quetta Gladiators v Karachi Kings, Rawalpindi (6pm)
Mar 7: Peshawar Zalmi v Lahore Qalandars, Rawalpindi (1pm); Islamabad United v Multan Sultans, Rawalpindi (6pm)
Mar 8: Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators, Rawalpindi (6pm)
Mar 9: Islamabad United v Lahore Qalandars, Rawalpindi (6pm)
Mar 10: Peshawar Zalmi v Multan Sultans, Rawalpindi (6pm)
Mar 11: Quetta Gladiators v Multan Sultans, Rawalpindi (6pm)
Mar 12: Islamabad United v Peshawar Zalmi, Rawalpindi (1pm); Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings, Lahore (6pm)
Mar 15: Qualifier 1, Lahore (6pm)
Mar 16: Eliminator, Lahore (6pm)
Mar 17: Qualifier 2 Lahore (6pm)
Mar 19: Final, Lahore (6pm)
Walls
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3 out of 5 stars
(Syco Music/Arista Records)
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Best Foreign Language Film nominees
Capernaum (Lebanon)
Cold War (Poland)
Never Look Away (Germany)
Roma (Mexico)
Shoplifters (Japan)
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Company%20Profile
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Hili 2: Unesco World Heritage site
The site is part of the Hili archaeological park in Al Ain. Excavations there have proved the existence of the earliest known agricultural communities in modern-day UAE. Some date to the Bronze Age but Hili 2 is an Iron Age site. The Iron Age witnessed the development of the falaj, a network of channels that funnelled water from natural springs in the area. Wells allowed settlements to be established, but falaj meant they could grow and thrive. Unesco, the UN's cultural body, awarded Al Ain's sites - including Hili 2 - world heritage status in 2011. Now the most recent dig at the site has revealed even more about the skilled people that lived and worked there.
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
Anna and the Apocalypse
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Mark Benton
Three stars
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
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Paatal Lok season two
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Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
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Tom Fletcher on 'soft power'
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.
