Published: Feb 09, 2017, 08:00 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 10, 2017, 01:24 PM (IST)
Good Evening! Hello and Welcome to Cricket Country’s live coverage of the tournament opener of the second edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017. The match will see defending champions Islamabad United take on first season’s league-toppers Peshawar Zalmi in Dubai. The buzz for the second edition of this spectacular league is palpable, not just in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) or Pakistan, but among the cricket fans around the world as well. The tournament will once again showcase top talent from around the world involved in exciting contests for around a month. While PSL 2 is expected to be bigger and better, the first game will set the tone for it and give us a glimpse of what will be in store in the days to come.
Talking about the defending champions first, they did not quite have a rollicking start to their campaign last year. But, in almost a fairytale-like script, the Misbah-ul-Haq-led side made a stunning comeback to win the tournament. Coming into the season two, the side has the experience of Misbah, Shane Watson, Saeed Ajmal, Samuel Badree, Mohammad Sami and Brad Haddin. In addition, it also has some exciting youngsters in Sam Billings and Sharjeel Khan, who can set the house on fire at the top. The team will miss services of Andre Russell, who has been replaced by Steven Finn after a one-year ban. Islamabad also have some exciting local players, who will have to play a major role if the side has to replicate last year’s effort.
On the other hand, Peshawar Zalmi were the team to beat in season one. After a dream run in the league stage, where they lost just two games, they were unlucky to lose both the games in the playoffs. But this time too, they have put up a strong side. In Darren Sammy, they have a skipper who has two ICC World T20 titles under his belt. In Tillakaratne Dilshan, Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Hafeez, Kamran Akmal and Marlon Samuels, they have seasoned campaigners in their ranks. While Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Shahzad and Alex Hales miss out this year due to reasons varying from national duties to injury, the side still has ample firepower to counter the titleholders. Eoin Morgan will be available for the starting stages. Chris Jordan, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan and Imran Khan form the pace attack, which looks as good as one can have.
On the whole, with intense action from plenty of international stars and some fascinating local players on display, the first game of PSL 2, and the tournament in general, looks promising.
Squads:
Islamabad United: Amad Butt, Asif Ali, Samuel Badree, Sam Billings, Steven Finn, Brad Haddin (wk), Hussain Talat, Imran Khalid, Khalid Latif, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami, Rumman Raees, Saeed Ajmal, Sharjeel Khan, Dwayne Smith, Shane Watson.
Peshawar Zalmi: Tillakaratne Dilshan, Andre Fletcher, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imran Khan (1), Chris Jordan, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Hafeez, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Darren Sammy (c), Marlon Samuels, Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Wahab Riaz.
Match Timings: (20:00 local | 16:00 GMT | 21:30 IST)
