Multan Sultans knocked Quetta Gladiators out of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 with a massive, almost unthinkable 110-run win in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. That leaves five teams fighting for the four play-off spots. But leaders Islamabad United will have their focus on topping the points table. (More Cricket News)
Already assured of a play-offs spot, a win against second-placed Peshawar Zalmi tonight in Abu Dhabi may well be enough for the Shadab Khan-led United to finish the league phase with the most points and take the bragging rights. They have 12 points from eight matches, and will play Multan Sultans in their final league match on Saturday.
United are on a run in the UAE leg of PSL 6. They lost to Lahore Qalandars by five wickets but registered three wins on the trot against Quetta Gladiators by 10 wickets, Qalandars (again) by 28 runs and Karachi Kings by eight wickets.
Zalmi also defeated Kings in their previous match, by six wickets, which catapulted the Wahab Riaz-led side to second place, ahead of Qalandars. Both the teams have ten points each with Zalmi playing one extra game. The clash against United tonight is Zalmi's final league game and a defeat in the first match of the Thursday double-header will make things complicated for them.
In the second match tonight, the Kings face Lahore Qalandars. Zalmi will be praying for the Kings (fifth with six points from eight matches) to beat Qalanders (third with 10 points from eight matches).
If Zalmi lose and Qalandar win, their positions with be swapped. Zalmi will also keep an eye on what Multan Sultans (currently fourth with eight points from eight matches) do in their remaining two matches.
Head-to-head: There's very little to separate the two teams, with Peshawar Zalmi leading the head-to-head record 7-6. But Zalmi have won the last four meetings, including the reverse fixture this season, by six wickets.
Match and telecast details
Match: 26th match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi
Date: June 17 (Thursday), 2021
Time: 6:30 PM IST/ 5:00 PM local
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE
TV Channels: Sony Pictures Network
Live Streaming: SonyLIV
Playing XIs in the previous match
Islamabad United (vs Karachi Kings): Colin Munro, Usman Khawaja, Shadab Khan (c), Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Hasan Ali, Ali Khan, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Akif Javed.
Peshawar Zalmi (vs Karachi Kings): Kamran Akmal (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Abrar Ahmed, Wahab Riaz (c), Umaid Asif, Mohammad Irfan, Sameen Gul.
Squads
Islamabad United: Shadab Khan (c), Ahmed Saifi Abdullah, Ali Khan, Akif Javed, Asif Ali, Brandon King, Colin Munro, Fawad Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Hussain Talat, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Mohammad Akhlaq, Musa Khan, Rohail Nazir, Umar Amin, Usman Khawaja, Zafar Gohar and Zeeshan Zameer.
Peshawar Zalmi: Wahab Riaz (c), Abrar Ahmed, Amad Butt, Bismillah Khan, David Miller (partially available), Fabian Allen (partially available), Fidel Edwards (partially available), Haider Ali, Hazratullah Zazai, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Amir Khan, Mohammad Irfan Snr, Mohammad Imran Jnr, Mohammad Imran Randhawa, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Shoaib Malik, Umaid Asif and Waqar Salamkheil.
