Kraigg Brathwaite hails Jayden Seales’ performance

Hasan Ali to miss remainder of PSL 2021 due to personal reasons

Islamabad United bowler Hasan Ali will be missing the remainder of the PSL 2021 due to personal reasons. "I want to say to all Islamabad United fans, unfortunately due to personal reasons I have to pull out of the remaining PSL matches," Hasan said. "Some things are more important than cricket and nothing is more important than family. I am thankful to Islamabad United for their support and understanding. This team truly is a family that stands with you through thick and thin. I wish the team very best of luck for the remaining PSL matches,” he added. The United skipper Shadab Khan has admitted that it is a “huge loss” to the team. "We understand Hassan's situation right now, family always comes first. We wish Hassan the very best of luck. He will obviously be a huge loss to our team and the tournament, but some things are more important than cricket. At Islamabad United we have always looked after each other like a family and we will continue to do so," Shadab said. Islamabad are presently sitting at second position with 8 points and four wins in six matches in the points table. The United will lock horns with Lahore Qalandars on Sunday (June 13, 2021) in their next fixture.

Collective goal of team is to lift the title: Trent Boult

New Zealand fast bowler Trent Boult has said that the team’s goal is to win the World Test Championship eventually. "The boys are very excited about the prospect, but they've put in a lot of hard yards not just over the last couple of weeks but over a couple of years of a Test Championship cycle. Some hard calls will have to be made but the big picture is the collective goal of lifting the world title," Boult told ESPNcricinfo.com. Boult had missed the first Test against England but appreciated the side’s efforts in the clash at Lord’s. "I found it pretty hard to sit on the sidelines there at Lord's last week; it's such a historic ground. The boys were on fire out there and I was itching to be out there, to be honest,” he added. The left-handed bowler bowled 10 overs and returned with figures of 1/34. The Blackcaps are presently battling it out against England in a two-match Test series and will be up against India in the final of the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship in Southampton slated to begin on June 18. The Indian team will then play a five-Test series against England after the conclusion of the WTC final.

PSL 2021 | MS vs PSZ: Pumped up Peshawar ready to face the Sultans from Multan

With big victories in their previous encounters, Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans get ready to fight it out in the second game of the doubleheaders day in the Pakistan Super League. On a Sunday, there could be nothing as mouthwatering as watching the likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Shoaib Malik, David Miller, Rilee Rossouw and Shimron Hetmyer handle the bat against the bowling of the likes of Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir and Imran Tahir. Both the teams might be coming from great wins over Karachi and Quetta, but there are issues that need to be addressed if they want to go ahead in the competitions and be a challenge to the likes of Lahore Qalandars and Islamabad United. Zalmi bowling attack is lopsided Zalmi might have stopped Quetta at 136 in their previous game, but there is no denying the fact that they are missing the fifth bowler in an attempt to make the batting lineup long. In their game against Qalandars, they were caught napping on that front as their fifth bowling combination of Shoaib Malik and Fabian Allen conceded 44 runs in four overs. Basically, they don’t have a quality spinner in their ranks and with a pace heavy attack, they won’t be going very far in this competition. Although there is Waqar Salamkheil, the Afghan chinaman and Abrar Ahmad the Pakhtunkhwah leggies, but both of them have not been tested at the highest level. So against a batting heavy team like Multan Sultans, the Zalmis might just miss a trick by not having a quality spinner in their armoury. Sultans don't bat deep Although the quality of batters in the Multan lineup is great. They are dependable and on their day could single-handedly win the game. But in total, they are just six, including the wicket-keeper. Sohail Tanvir batting at number seven is an indication of the fact that the lower order is not batting friendly. If it so happens that Sultans lose all their six batman before the death over, then who would capitalise? Such a situation almost occurred in their last game against the Karachi Kings when Khushdil Shah had to bat it out along with Tanvir. But if Khushdil had also got out, what would have been the consequences? So both the teams have strengths and weaknesses too, it would come down to which team exploits others’ weakness and which team can overpower that weakness with their strength. Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi: Match Details Match Number- 21 Date and Time: June 13th 2021, 11:30 pm IST, 06:00 pm GMT, 10:00 pm Local Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony Liv Pitch Report The dew is getting heavier by the day in Abu Dhabi and it is making batting in the second innings predominantly easy. There is obviously some purchase in the first innings for the bowlers, if they hit the right areas, be it spinner or fast bowler. Similarly, for a batsman, if they are willing to spend some time in the middle and wait for the right kind of deliveries to attack, there are ample opportunities to score runs. Weather and Toss With temperature hovering in the lower thirties and 65% humidity in the air, heavy dew is expected at the Sheikh Zayed Arena. Any team winning the toss would choose to bowl without any doubt. Team News Multan Sultans Sohail Tanvir was limping during the game after a yorker from Mohammad Amir crushed his legs. The left-arm unorthodox pacer struggled a lot to even complete his full quota of overs. Other than his fitness being a cause of worry there doesn’t seem to be any reason for changing the winning combination. Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hetmyer didn’t fire and a lot was expected of them, still, they would be given a few more chances before any decision is taken. Probable XI Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Sohaib Maqsood, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rilee Rossouw, Shimron Hetmyer, Khushdil Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Sohail Khan, Imran Tahir, Shahnawaz Dhani, Imran Khan Peshawar Zalmi The Zalmi team could introduce a proper spinner in place of Fabian Allen as even Wahab Riaz can hit a few in the later phase of the innings and so can Umaid Asif. Having Allen makes no sense in that case. However, since he is a natural wicket-taker and the team is winning, expecting a chance for Salamkheil in such a situation would be difficult. Probable XI Kamran Akmal (wk), Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, David Miller, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Fabian Allen, Wahab Riaz (c), Umaid Asif, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan Dream XI / Fantasy XI Predictions Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Haider Ali, Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Shimron Hetmyer, David Miller, Fabian Allen, Wahab Riaz, Imran Tahir, Shahnawaz Dhani, Mohammad Irfan

PSL 2021 | QTG vs PSZ: Killer Miller, Irfan help Zalmi knock clueless Quetta almost out of Playoffs race

Quetta Gladiators’ woes continue as they lose yet another game in the Pakistan Super League. With this 61 run loss against the Peshawar Zalmi, the Sarfaraz Ahmed led side are almost out of the race to the playoffs. This is the Gladitors’ sixth loss in seven games and even if they go on to win their remaining three matches, they could get up to just eight points which wouldn’t suffice for them to make it to the Playoffs, until and unless some miracle happens. It was a poor performance by all means from the team in purple. Be it with the ball or the bat, they were no match at all to the team from the Swat valley in the north. Chasing a gigantic total of 198, the only phase where the Quetta side looked like being in the chase was during their opening partnership of 62 runs by two youngsters Usman Khan and Saim Ayub, who came as a concussion substitute for Faf du Plessis. Post that, it was all chaos as Mohammad Irfan picked up three wickets in just one over to jolt the batting order. From 69-1, the Gladiators were suddenly 70-4 with most of their attacking batters including Cameron Delport and Azam Khan walking back to the pavilion. Skipper Sarfaraz was left to fight the lone battle when Umaid Asif, also known as PSL’s Iron Man removed two batters, Mohammad Nawaz and Jake Weatherald in only his first over of the game. With nothing much to be gained from the game, the 34-year-old skipper chose to increase his average as he remained not out on 36 from 28 balls. Earlier in the evening, the story of the Gladiators bowling was also similar to their batting. After starting well, getting two quick wickets including that of experienced Shoaib Malik and putting Zalmi in all sorts of trouble, the Gladiators lost control. Capitalising on that, David Miller and Kamran Akmal, both of whom were struggling to get runs, got going. The two put together 125 runs in just 72 balls to break the shackle of the Quetta attack. Thereafter there was no end to Srafaraz’ frustration which was pretty much visible and audible from his actions and words behind the wicket. From 30/2 in seven overs, the Gladiators conceded 167 in 13 overs. In fact, they had pulled back some runs, but for the miscalculation of Sarafaraz who gave legging Zahid Mahmoddthe last over of the innings and Rovman Powell hit him for 20 runs. Among Mahmood and Delport, used as the fifth bowler, they gave away 78 runs in four overs. Miller was the highest scorer of the Zalmi with his 46 balls 73. However, Irfan with his 3/27 presented a tough battle for the Man of the Match Award, but it was eventually won by the 32-year-old Proteas man. Wahab Riaz, the skipper of the men in camouflage was happy with the performance of his team. Praising Irfan he said, “Irfan has shown attitude and intent and he is one of the best bowlers in the world. It's very hard to bowl three overs like that, he's a great guy.” “It's a great win to have and we are looking at the matches one by one hoping to make it into the playoffs,” he added. The Zalmi will be in action tomorrow, June 13 as well when they will take on Multan Sultans at the very same venue of Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi. The Gladiators would have enough time to gather themselves and also to gauge their mathematical chances of remaining in the competition when they next face Lahore Qalandars on June 15.