In a blockbuster Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2022 match, holders and undefeated Multan Sultans face last season's losing finalists Peshawar Zalmi on Saturday. Both the sides have played four matches each so far in the PSL 7 season. (More Cricket News)
Eight months ago, Multan Sultans completed a sensational turnaround to win their maiden PSL title after defeating Peshawar Zalmi in the Abu Dhabi, UAE final by 47 runs in their fifth appearance. The Mohammad Rizwan-led side lost four of their first five matches in Pakistan last season, then the change of venue brought luck. They won four in the next five to finish second in the six-team table and qualify for the play-offs. In the first qualifier, they defeated Islamabad United by 31 runs to enter their maiden final.
For Zalmi, it was their third final defeat in four seasons, having already lost to Islamabad United in 2018 and to Islamabad United in 2019. They finished fourth in 2020. Despite these defeats, the 2017 champions remain possibly the most consistent side in PSL. Now, Wahab Riaz & Co need a big win against the holders to send out a strong message.
But it will not be an easy task. Sultans are on a roll, winning their last matches including four in PSL 2022. They last lost a match on June 19, that too in a thriller against Islamabad United by two wickets.
Endless Match-winners
Since then, the youngest franchise in Pakistan's T20 cricket league has witnessed six different 'player of the match' -- Sohail Tanvir (3/17 and 12 off nine) vs Islamabad United in last season's Qualifier, Sohaib Maqsood (65 off 35) vs Peshawar Zalmi in last season's final, Imran Tahir (3/16) vs Karachi Kings, Shan Masood (83 off 50) vs Lahore Qalandars and (88 off 58) vs Quetta Gladiators, and Tim David (71 off 29, 6 fours and 6 sixes) vs Islamabad.
And they sit pretty at the top of the PSL points table with eight points and a healthy net run rate of +0.620. They will start favourites against Zalmi tonight. Winning is also a habit. But they will be without head coach Andy Flower, who has left Indian Premier League (IPL) mega auction. The Zimbabwean was recently named the head coach of the new IPL franchise, Lucknow Super Giants. In his absence, Pakistan spin legend Mushtaq Ahmed will guide the team.
For Peshawar Zalmi, who have two wins in four matches, a win against the pacesetters will do wonders. Zalmi started the PSL 7 season with a comfortable five-wicket win against Quetta Gladiators, thanks to Will Smeed (97 off 62). But they lost the next two to Islamabad United by nine wickets and to Lahore Qalandars by 29 runs. In the last match, veteran Shoaib Malik hit 52 off 28 in a player of the match award-winning performance to help Zalmi beat Karachi Kings by nine wickets.
Both the sides have featured in some high-scoring matches this season. Expect another one tonight. This is the second match of the Saturday double-header with Islamabad United taking on Lahore Qalandars in match 12.
Head-to-head
Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans will meet for the tenth time in PSL. Sultans lead the head-to-head record 9-3, including wins in the last two meetings.
Match and telecast details
Match: 13th match of Pakistan Super League 2022, Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans
Date: February 5 (Saturday), 2022
Time: 8:00 PM IST/ 7:30 PM local
Venue: National Stadium, Karachi
TV Channels: Sony Sports Network
Live Streaming: SonyLIV
In Pakistan: A Sports, PTV Sports, Ten Sports, Daraz, Tapmad and Cricwick.
Elsewhere...
Willow TV (North America), Flow Sports (Caribbean), Sky Sports (United Kingdom), Sky Sport (New Zealand) and SuperSport (Africa).
Playing XIs in the previous match
Peshawar Zalmi (vs Karachi Kings): Kamran Akmal (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Haider Ali, Hussain Talat, Shoaib Malik, Sherfane Rutherford, Ben Cutting, Wahab Riaz (c), Mohammad Umar, Usman Qadir, Salman Irshad.
Multan Sultans (vs Islamabad United): Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, David Willey, Abbas Afridi, Imran Tahir, Anwar Ali, Rumman Raees.
Squads
Peshawar Zalmi: Hazratullah Zazai, Kamran Akmal (wk), Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Ben Cutting, Sherfane Rutherford, Hussain Talat, Wahab Riaz (c), Mohammad Umar, Usman Qadir, Salman Irshad, Arish Ali Khan, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Yasir Khan, Sohail Khan, Patrick Brown, Sameen Gul, Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Haris, Sirajuddin.
Multan Sultans: Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, David Willey, Abbas Afridi, Imran Tahir, Rumman Raees, Imran Khan, Shahnawaz Dahani, Ihsanullah, Johnson Charles, Blessing Muzarabani, Rizwan Hussain, Asif Afridi, Aamer Azmat.
