BEN HART - Key match-ups, squad lists, head-to-head record, weather forecast, prediction, odds, form guide and more ahead of the next game of the 2022 Pakistan Super League season
Multan Sultans take on Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League.
The game is set for Friday, February 18. The first ball will be bowled at 2:30pm local time (9:30am GMT).
The game will be held at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Multan Sultans sit top of the PSL, having lost just one of their opening eight matches, and have already secured a play-off spot.
By contrast Quetta Gladiators have endured a disappointing campaign, and with just three wins from eight matches are in desperate need of a victory to aid their slim chances of progression.
It was, however, a close affair when these two met earlier in the competition, with the Sultans running out winners by six runs. The game was in the balance until the Gladiators lost wickets in the 18th and 19th over before losing a further two in the 20th, as they were ultimately bowled out chasing 174.
Shan Masood’s 88 runs from 58 deliveries proved the difference that day and his 396 runs in the tournament places him second for most runs scored.
The Sultans won each of their first six games, often by a significant margin having posted 217 and 222 in two of those fixtures.
A first defeat came at the hands of Lahore Qalandars but they bounced back on February 16, claiming a seven-wicket victory with three balls to spare against Karachi, with Masood (45 off 41) starring once more.
The Gladiators, on the other hand, have struggled for consistency.
They sit in fifth, two points behind Peshawar Zalmi but with a slightly superior net run rate, and will be closely watching the outcome of Peshawar’s result against Islamabad.
An Islamabad victory would offer the Gladiators a chance to go level on points with Peshawar with one league stage game to play.
Their chances of victory against Sultan may depend on the fortunes of Jason Roy and Will Smeed.
Roy hit 116 off 57 against Lahore and boasts an impressive strike rate of 192.63 in the tournament. Smeed fell just one short of a century in the most recent fixture against Lahore where only three teammates made double figures.
Jason Roy celebrating a century for Quetta Gladiators against Lahore Qalandars [Asif Hassan/Getty Images]
The Gladiators have to take early wickets to stand any chance of an upset.
If Masood and Sultans' captain Mohammad Rizwan – who is ranked third in the run-scoring charts – are on song then it could be a long afternoon for Sarfaraz Ahmed’s side.
Naseem Shah is Quetta's top wicket-taker, with 11 wickets and best figures of 5 for 20 in the tournament. The 19-year-old looks set to thrive on the big occasion for years to come and a match-winning performance is required here.
Shah is coming off the back of an impressive 4 for 27 against Peshawar Zalmi, taking the prized wickets of the destructive Liam Livingstone and in-form Ben Cutting.
But the paceman’s figures from this pair’s last meeting make ominous reading. Shah was wicketless from his four overs and was dispatched for 42 runs by Masood and Tim David.
Matches played: 8
Multan Sultans wins: 4
Quetta Gladiators wins: 4
It’s set to a great day for cricket in Lahore on Friday, with temperatures hovering around 21 degrees Celsius.
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan, Rilee Rossouw, Sohaib Maqsood, Imran Tahir, Shan Masood, Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dhani, Tim David, Odean Smith, Rumman Raees, Asif Afridi, Anwar Ali, Rovman Powell, Imran Khan Sr., Abbas Afridi, Amir Azmat, Blessing Muzarabani, Ihsanullah
Supplementary round: David Willey, Rizwan Hussain
Partial replacements: Johnson Charles, Dominic Drakes
Quetta Gladiators: James Vince, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz (replaced by Hassan Khan), Shahid Afridi (Covid replacement: Hassan Khan), Mohammad Hasnain (replaced by Mohammad Irfan), Naseem Shah, Jason Roy, James Faulkner, Umar Akmal, Sohail Tanvir, Ben Duckett (withdrew due to Covid fatigue, replaced by Will Smeed), Khurram Shehzad, Abdul Wahid Bangalzai, Muhammad Ashar Qureshi, Noor Ahmad, Ahsan Ali, Luke Wood (withdrew injured)
Supplementary round: Ghulam Mudassar, Dan Lawrence
Partial replacements: Will Smeed, Ali Imran, Shimron Hetmyer
Shan Masood [Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images]
Multan Sultans: Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan, Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Anwar Ali, Abbas Afridi, Imran Tahir, Blessing Muzarabani
Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Ahsan Ali, James Vince, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Iftikhar Ahmed, James Faulkner, Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Noor Ahmed, Naseem Shah, Ghulam Mudassar
Multan Sultans start the game as strong favourites at 4/7. Quetta Gladiators are available at 11/8.
Sultans are favourites for a reason and will be keen to maintain form ahead of the play-offs. Quetta Gladiators side will need something special to take the two points.
In Pakistan, games will be on A Sports and Ten Sports.
In the UK games will be shown on Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Virgin 504).
In Australia, the games will be shown on Foxtel, Fox Sports and Kayo.
In India, Sony Sports Network carries the broadcast rights.
In the Caribbean, Flow Sports hold the broadcast rights, with Willow TV showing the tournament in North America.
SuperSport will provide coverage in South Africa, while Sky Sport will show the matches in New Zealand.
The PCB has partnered with ICC TV and tapmad TV to broadcast PSL7 in: Andorra, Antarctica, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bouvet Island, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Cocos Island, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, East Timor, Ecuador, Estonia, Falkland Islands, Faroe islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guyana, Heard Island, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgystan, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Caledonia, North Korea, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Vietnam and Venezuela.
The commentary line-up includes Nick Knight, David Gower, Mike Haysman, Pommie Mbangwa, Danny Morrison, Bazid Khan, Waqar Younis, Urooj Mumtaz, Sana Mir, Marina Iqbal and Tariq Saeed. Erin Holland, Zainab Abbas and Sikandar Bakht will present the live coverage.
PSL GUIDES (open in external window in app)
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