SHARJAH: After 20 matches, the 2017 HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) now enters the decisive stage where Lahore Qalandars will be missing for the second successive season. In an exact replica of inaugural season, the playoff line-ups are same as they were last year.

The last time Peshawar Zalmi faced Quetta Gladiators in the battle of top finishers, they suffered a heartbreaking defeat with Sarfraz Ahmed’s charges qualifying for the final by a slender margin of one run. But Peshawar of 2017 are a different side from that of 2016 with Darren Sammy taking the leadership from Shahid Afridi in a key off-season change.

Quetta will head into Tuesday’s fixture at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium in a sombre mood following two narrow losses against Islamabad United — who will face in the second playoff against Karachi Kings at the same venue 24 hours later — and Peshawar on Saturday night after the two teams shared points in their first meeting here in Sharjah when the game was ruined by rain.

Peshawar will have a psychological edge over Quetta by virtue of winning on Saturday night on a spicy Dubai International Cricket Stadium. But they will definitely feel the absence of Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan after the Bangladesh stars flew off to Colombo for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.

Sammy’s side have already lost the services of Eoin Morgan, who headed home to lead England for a three-match ODI rubber in the Caribbean.

In the first qualifier last year in Dubai, Quetta made only 133 but still managed to create panic in the Peshawar ranks during the chase. A certain Sir Vivian Richards knows the art of bringing out the best from his team when the chips are down and Quetta have proved this theory more than once in this PSL.

The advantage of finishing among the top two sides means that both Peshawar and Quetta would still remain in contention for the title regardless of the outcome of their clash. While the winners will progress straight into Sunday’s final in Lahore, the losers would get another chance to go through because they have to play the winners of the second playoff between third and fourth-placed teams in Friday’s third playoff, which is also known as the eliminator.

Islamabad brace for a tough outing on Wednesday night against a resurgent Karachi franchise which is peaking at the right time. They looked down and out again as they were in season one when Islamabad beat Lahore in the last league fixture to enable Karachi to sneak into the playoffs.

Kumar Sangakkara has already made a lot of difference as captain with a calm approach which has served to keep nerves under control of the players he leads. In the last edition, Karachi were plagued by issues of all sorts but more so in the leadership front as Shoaib Malik resigned during the tournament and Ravi Bopara was forced to take over.

Islamabad have the hugely experienced but aging Misbah-ul-Haq as their skipper. Again like Sangakkara, Misbah’s soothing presence has been one of the key factors behind his team emerging victorious in big matches.

But given the current state of these teams, Karachi are in pole position since two of their four victories in their previous five matches of this tournament have come against the defending champions. Misbah’s men dearly will be keen to relive the golden moment of their playoff win last year against the same team to overcome recent setbacks against Karachi.

On that occasion, Mohammad Sami took five wickets for eight runs in four overs to send Karachi limping to 111-9 on a flat Dubai pitch. After that it was a cakewalk for Islamabad as Dwayne Smith and Bad Haddin added 97 in a nine-wicket stroll with more than five overs left unused.

On paper, Karachi have more energy than Islamabad, who are saddled with a host of over 35-plus in their squad. When Sharjeel Khan exited, who they brought in? A 40-year-old Riffatullah Mohmand! Probably their think-tank thought of him as a good replacement since he is still two years younger than Misbah.

Playoff fixtures (all times in PST):

Feb 28: Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators (Sharjah, 9:00pm).

March 1: Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United (Sharjah, 9:00pm).

March 3: Losers of Playoff 1 vs Winners of Playoff 2 (Dubai, 9:00pm).

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2017