Preview

Karachi Kings will lock horns with bitter rivals, Lahore Qalandars, in the second match of the PSL 2021 double-header on Thursday in Abu Dhabi.   

Since the resumption of the competition in Abu Dhabi, Karachi Kings are yet to win a match. From reigning supreme at the start of this 2nd leg, the defending champions have stooped to the 5th position on the points table and are in desperate need for a victory to resurrect their campaign. They are running short of time and have to come to grips with an in-form Lahore Qalandars side which beat them in the first half of PSL 2021. A lot rides on Karachi’s inexperienced bowling line-up which hasn’t fared well, especially with the on-going wicket drought for their premier pacer, Mohammad Amir. With the willows, Babar Azam has by far been the only shining light with the rest of the batting line-up failing to contribute anything of significance to the team’s cause, yet. 

On the contrary, Lahore Qalandars have had mixed results in the Abu Dhabi leg. They have now succumbed twice in two games following a highly impressive start to the 2nd leg. However, unlike their archenemies, the Qalandars look a far more balanced outfit at the moment with depth in their batting line-up and arguably the best bowling attack of the tournament. In particular, their overseas players have starred for them. Rashid Khan and James Faulkner have been exceptionally reliable with the ball, stemming the flow of runs and also scalping crucial preys. Tim David, in absence of David Wiese, has offered the Qalandars the necessary firepower in the middle-order and has looked in scintillating touch.   

Match Details

Match:

 Karachi Kings v Lahore Qalandars.

Date & Time:

 June 17, 2021 - 11.00 PM PST.

Venue: 

Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi

Predicted Playing XIs

Karachi Kings:

 Sharjeel Khan, Martin Guptill, Babar Azam, Chadwick Walton (wk), Thisara Perera, Najeebullah Zadran, Imad Wasim (c), Mohd Amir, Arshad Iqbal, Waqas Maqsood and Abbas Afridi

Lahore Qalandars:

 Sohail Akthar (c), Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Faheem Ashraf, Ben Dunk, Tim David, Rashid Khan, Haris Rauf, James Faulkner, Shaheen Afridi and Ahmed Daniyal

Fantasy XI 

Chadwick Walton, Zeeshan Ashraf, Babar Azam (c), Sharjeel Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Mohd Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Mohd Amir, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi (vc) and Abbas Afridi

Pitch Report and Weather Conditions

Despite the characteristic slowness of the Abu Dhabi troughs, teams have regularly breached the 160-run mark several times over the past week or so in PSL 2021. Islamabad United, just last night, chased down what initially seemed a gargantuan total from Karachi Kings. Another decent track awaits these two teams and both captains are likely to prefer chasing in these conditions with the dew factor becoming much more prominent later in the night. As far as the weather conditions are concerned, temperatures are usually high during daytime and begin to fall to lower 30s (degrees Celsius) in night.