Lahore Qalandars Wednesday won the toss and invited Islamabad United to bat first at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore.

Qalandars, fresh from their emphatic win over Quetta Gladiators, would try to take the winning momentum to next level to become a strong contender for the title. Qalandars have made two changes as Usman Shinwari returns in place of Shaheen Shaha Afridi, who got his shoulder injured during a practice session ahead of the Gladiators match but featured in the match and played through the pain.

Qalandars also rested out-of-form opener Fakhar Zaman and brought in Salman Butt instead who will play his first match in this season.

This will be the second time the teams face each other in this year’s edition. In the previous meeting between the sides on February 23, United narrowly won the game by one wicket after a tough contest between the sides.

Shadab Khan-led Islamabad United, the two-time champions lifted the title in 2016 and 2018, while they finished third in 2019 and 2017. Qalandars, on the other hand, have finished at the bottom of the league — fifth in 2016 and 2017 and sixth in 2018 and 2019.

United have played six games in the tournament so far, winning two and losing three. Their game against Peshawar Zalmi was abandoned without a ball being played due to rain.

Squads:

Islamabad United: Shadab Khan (C), Asif Ali, Luke Ronchi, Hussain Talat, Colin Ingram, Colin Munro, Rizwan Hussain, Akif Javed, Dale Steyn, Zafar Gohar, Rumman Raees

Lahore Qalandars: Chris Lynn, Salman Butt, Sohail Akhtar (C), Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk, Mohammad Faizan, Samit Patel, Seekkuge Prasanna, Salman Irshad, Usman Shinwari, Dilbar Hussain