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PSL 6: Jolted by Islamabad blow, Karachi eye comeback against Rizwan strong Multan

Abhishek Singh

Karachi Kings got their first blow in their very second game in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) as they lost the game against Islamabad United even after scoring 196 runs. It was the biggest chase of the Islamabad side which has won two games in the same fashion by chasing down unexpected totals. After having been dealt such a blow the Imad Wasim led side would be up against Mohammad Rizwan’s Multan sultans, who finally won their first game. 

The Sultans would be oozing with confidence having defeated the table toppers Lahore Qalandars and quite handsomely at that too. Multan would be a tough challenge on any given day but with a win by their side, they are going to be ferocious. The defending champions Karachi need to be at their very best to be able to challenge a Multan side full of match winners. 

Karachi need calming influence on the bowling unit

Even after scoring 196 runs and getting the two wickets out for just 13 runs, you would back the bowling side to win such encounters, especially if the side had got the opposition out for below 140 in their previous encounter. However, things went haywire for the likes of Waqas Maqsood and Aamer Yamin. The latter went for 29 runs in a single over, changing the entire momentum of the game. 

It is in situations like these that you would want your senior men to calm down the bowlers. But in the case of Karachi, their senior men in Mohammad Amir himself went for runs big time. Thus somebody in the dressing room needs to dumb it down to the skipper and senior pros to keep on chatting to the bowlers in times of crisis. 

The ideal situation for Multan: Let's go Rizwan

Multan Sultans would want their skipper Mohammad Rizwan to keep on playing the way he has been so far in the tournament. He had hardly put any foot wrong and is now the leading run-scorer in the tournament having scored 182 runs with the help of two fifties and a forty. 

But the good thing for Multan is that Rizwan is not the only man in form. The team has got Sohaib Maqsood and James Vince to compliment him as well. Also, the fact that Chris Lynn is only a good inning away from regaining his form makes the batting lineup all the more destructive. With Sohail Khan replacing Sohail Tanvir and Shahnawaz Dhani getting experienced with each passing game, the bowling of the Sultans also looks good enough to defend big totals.

Karachi Kings vs Multan Sultans: Match Details

Match Number- 09

Day and Date: 27th Feb, 02: 30 pm IST, 02:00 pm Local, 09:00 am GMT

Venue- National Stadium, Karachi

Broadcast and Live Stream: Sony SIX, Sony LIV

Pitch Report

The Pitch at the Karachi Stadium during the day time has been slow to start with and then gets better as the game moves on. So the spinners come into play during the day and any team winning the toss would therefore like to field first. 

Weather Update

The weather at Karachi would be ideal for cricket with temperatures hovering between 32 and 28 degrees. The heat in the afternoon would push the captain to chose for bowl first option to get assistance for their spinners. 

Probable XI 

Karachi Kings

Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Joe Clarke (wk), Colin Ingram, Daniel Christian, Imad Wasim (c), Qasim Akram, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Amir, Waqas Maqsood, Arshad Iqbal

Multan Sultans

Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Chris Lynn, James Vince, Rilee Rossouw, Sohaib Maqsood, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Afridi, Carlos Brathwaite, Sohail Khan, Usman Qadir, Shahnawaz Dhani

Dream XI / Fantasy XI

Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Joe Clarke, Babar Azam, Sohaib Maqsood, James Vince, Imad Wasim, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite, Mohammad Amir, Shahnawaz Dhani, Usman Qadir

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Missed chances haunt Lahore as Rizwan-Maqsood guide Multan to first win of the season

The fairy tale of Mohammad Rizwan and his Midas touch continued as the skipper led Multan to their first-ever win in the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL). It was actually third time lucky for the Sultans as they had lost their last two games after dominating the proceedings for the most part of the match. Sultans were equally helped by some very clumsy fielding on the part of Qalandars who dropped both Rizwan and Sohaib Maqsood in crunch situations. The biggest change this time around for the team from South Punjab was that it won the toss and chose to field first, giving its batters the chance to win the game, instead of depending on the bowlers, who failed the team twice already. Chasing a modest total of 158, the Sultans didn’t start off well as Shaheen Afridi removed Chris Lynn with a ripper that broke the woodwork behind Lynn. Joined by the last match batting hero for Sultans, James Vince, Rizwan tried to build a partnership, but Vince got carried way, getting caught at the boundary of a Samit Patel delivery. But that was the last moment of joy for the Qlanadars in the game as Maqsood settled in with the skipper and added 110 for the fourth wicket to put Qalandars out of the game. Both the batsmen took all the Qlanadars bowlers for cleaners and were generously helped by the fielders of the likes of Fakhar Zaman who either did not attempt the catch or even if did, dropped sitters. He dropped Rizwan on 55 when Sultans were only 83/2. In the very next over, Maqsood too was dropped as Patel let down a sitter at the point on the bowling of Salman Mirza. Having been given these many chances, the two batsmen made sure that there were not many hurdles in the chase. When Rizwan finally got out of 76 from 49 balls, Multan needed only 18 runs and they cruised to the target under the guidance of Maqsood, who hit his first half-century of this season. The 33-year-old remained unbeaten on 61. Earlier in the day, being put to bat first after losing the toss, Lahore were rocked by twin strikes from Multan’s Shanawaz Dhani and Carlos Brathwaite. It took a lot of time for the Qalandars to make recovery. Mohammad Hafeez and Joe Denly built the innings and added 89 runs for the fourth wicket. At the time when they were together, Lahore threatened to cross the barrier of 170. Hafeez’s run-out changed the course of the Lahore innings as from 122-4 at 16.1, they ended up getting to only 157 in the 20 overs. While Hafeez top-scored for Qalandars, hitting consecutive half-centuries (60 off 35 in this innings), Dhani, the young man from Sindh along with Brathwaite picked two wickets each. For Qalandars, Shaheen Afridi picked two wickets to get to the top of the highest wicket-takers list. Mohammad Rizwan leads the highest run-getters charts with 188 runs in three innings. With this win at the National Stadium in Karachi, Sultans have now got off the mark in the Points Table, while Lahore remain at the number one spot.