In the post-match presentation ceremony in the last game, the Karachi Kings skipper said, “If we think we can't make it, there's no point in playing, so we'll give it our best shot.” This was said immediately after their third consecutive loss in the Pakistan Super League 2021, this time at the hands of Peshawar Zalmi. But now is the time that the ‘best shot’ that Imad Wasim was talking about, needs to be delivered.
For Karachi to qualify, they can still do with a loss mathematically, but morally, they need this win to tell themselves that we are here to compete and we are here to win and we are indeed the defending champions.
However, it is not going to be one bit easy as they would be up against a Lahore Qalandars side who themselves are reeling from two consecutive losses after a great run in the opening two games. Sohail Akhtar’s side has not been able to chase their targets in the last two games and have rather collapsed at the top and in the middle, leaving many a loophole to be exploited by the opposition sides.
What Karachi did well in the first leg of the tournament was score big and then bowl well enough to contain the opposition teams. In this leg in the three games that they have played so far, there has been a problem in both the batting and bowling and the two haven’t been able to click together.
The likes of Mohammad Amir and Babar Azam, two of the most precious Kings weapons haven’t been able to fire as much as the team would have liked, especially Amir. Babar only failed in the last game but was not able to take his team home against Sultans either, even after scoring more than 80 runs.
In the four games that Lahore have played, it has been Tim David, Rashid Khan and Ben Dunk that have been able to score runs for the team, all of them overseas players. Their domestic heroes like Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez and skipper Sohail have not been able to get going and thus when both Dunk and Rashid failed in the last two games, David was not able to get his team past the target even if he wanted to.
Thus senior batsmen from Lahore need to get back in the form if they are to make any amends in their fortunes and the points on the table as well.
Match Number- 27
Date and Time: June 17, 2021, 11: 30 pm IST, 06:00 pm GMT, 10:00 pm Local
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Live Stream and Broadcast: Sony LIV and Sony Ten
The pitch used for this game will be the same on which two t20 matches would have been played already. Thus it would naturally have some wear and tear and help the spinners. The ball would grip the surface and change in pace by bowlers could be vital as well.
The weather in Abu Dhabi as usual would be hot and humid as it is in the month of June. With humidity at 58% and dew point at 23, heavy dew can be expected and thus winning the toss would naturally mean bowling first.
Martin Guptill hasn’t been able to fire in all the three games that he has played so far. Thisara Perera really hasn’t got a real chance with all that chopping and changing and hence he deserves a chance instead of Gutill for sure. He would also provide a bowling option, badly required by the Kings. Aamer Yamin can make way for him as Danish Aziz can take up the place of Guptill.
Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Danish Aziz, Najibullah Zadran, Chadwick Walton (wk), Noor Ahmad, Imad Wasim (c), Thisara Perera, Abbas Afridi, Waqas Maqsood, Mohammad Amir
The Qalandars have played Muhammad Zaid Alam and Zeeshan Ashraf and both have failed in the two chances given to them. Now they no one else but Agha Salman the all-rounder to try, who could bat at number seven even as Dunk, Hafeez and David move up in the order. Instead of Ahmed Daniyal, who hasn’t really been able to bring any positive change in the tournament, Dilbar Hussain can be tried as well.
Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Tim David, Agha Salman, Rashid Khan, James Faulkner, Dilbar Hussain, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf
Babar Azam (c), Sharjeel Khan, Najibullah Zadran, Ben Dunk (wk), Tim David, Imad Wasim, Rashid Khan, James Faulkner (vc), Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi