Published: Feb 10, 2017, 08:50 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 10, 2017, 08:50 PM (IST)
Peshawar Zalmi will face Karachi Kings in match No. 3 of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai. Darren Sammy’s Peshawar Zalmi faced a defeat against Islamabad United in their first match. Zalmi scored 190, but could not defend their total despite boasting of stars like Shahid Afridi, Chris Jordan, Junaid Khan, Hasan Ali and Sammy himself. The Zalmi middle-order failed as well; they could not capitalise on the strong base set up by Kamran Akmal (88) and Dawid Malan (43). In this game, the Zalmi middle-order will have to take more responsibilities. As far as Karachi Kings squad is concerned, they boast of one of the strongest sides in this season of PSL.
Zalmi will have to rectify their mistakes soon enough to bounce back on the winning track. They rested their two strike bowlers, pacer Wahab Riaz and left-arm spinner Asghar Khan, in their opening match. At least one of them will almost certainly be back. Both men were in supreme form last season, with Wahab emerging as the second highest wicket-taker. The lineup has some firepower in Eoin Morgan, Afridi and Sammy, but they need to put up a collective effort.
On the other hand, the Karachi Kings have an explosive batting lineup, consisting of Chris Gayle, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Kieron Pollard, Shoaib Malik, Babar Azam and Ravi Bopara. The equally formidable bowling attack comprises of the local trio of Mohammad Aamer, Sohail Khan and Rahat Ali, while Pollard is more than handy in need. With such abundance of talent in their squad, and with the fact that their opposition having lost the first game of the tournament the Kings would be looking to pounce on this opportunity. Moreover, the Kings would also hope to put back last season’s record in the tournament. They had won both fixtures against Lahore Qalandars but lost all matches against every other team. They have invested heavily in the transfer market this year getting in Gayle and Sangakkara.
Teams:
Peshawar Zalmi: Darren Sammy (c), Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Hafeez, Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan, Haris Sohail, Shahid Afridi, Iftikhar Ahmed, Chris Jordan, Hasan Ali, Junaid Khan, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Andre Fletcher, Imran Khan Jr, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Samit Patel, Marlon Samuels, Sohaib Maqsood, Tamim Iqbal, Wahab Riaz
Karachi Kings: Kumar Sangakkara (c & wk), Saifullah Bangash (wk), Babar Azam, Abrar Ahmed, Ravi Bopara, Chris Gayle, Hasan Mohsin, Imad Wasim, Mahela Jayawardene, Kashif Bhatti, Khurram Manzoor, Ryan McLaren, Mohammad Aamer, Kieron Pollard, Rahat Ali, Shahzaib Hasan, Shoaib Malik, Sohail Khan, Usama Mir.
Time: 9:30 pm IST | 4:00 pm GMT | 8:00 pm LOCAL
