BEN HART and DOM HOGAN - 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
Quetta Gladiators take on Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League.
The game is set for Sunday, February 20. 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.
It’s been a desperately poor year for the Karachi Kings. For the first time since the inception of the tournament they have failed to make the playoffs and not even a win in their final outing of the season can lift them off the foot of the table.
Karachi have desperately struggled with the bat, failing to make it past 200 on one occasion this year. Even the presence of number one ranked T20 batter Babar Azam has failed to spur them onto victory. Azam has been short of his best but still averages a handy 38 at a strike-rate of 120.
White-ball experts Mohammad Nabi and Chris Jordan have also struggled to discover their best form.
However, Babar Azam’s side are hoping to finish their bitterly disappointing season on a high after finally picking up two points against Lahore Qalandars.
The Kings started their defence of 149 against Lahore Qalandars strongly, removing openers Abdullah Shafique and Fakhar Zaman inside the first four overs, leaving them 10 for 2.
And Lahore continued to struggle against Karachi's bowlers, particularly Mir Hamza, who finished with four wickets in his four overs. Having removed both openers, he then returned to take the crucial wickets of David Wiese and Harry Brook to ensure Karachi Kings recorded their first win of the campaign.
Quetta Gladiators' campaign has been equally disappointing. They are effectively out of the competition after a resounding 117-run defeat to Multan Sultans - they must win against the Kings and hope Islamabad United lose both of their remaining matches to have any hope of qualification.
Against the Sultans, Mohammad Irfan was the only bowler to finish with an economy below 10 as Mohammad Rizwan (83 off 54) and Rilee Roussow (71 off 26) wreaked havoc on their way to 245 for 3.
The Gladiators had previously given themselves a good chance of making the playoffs after a tight victory over Islamabad United, but three successive heavy defeats have left them adrift in fifth.
Jason Roy, however, will be licking his lips at the prospect of going up against a wounded Karachi attack. The England opener boasts the highest score in the tournament so far with a jaw-dropping 116 off 57 deliveries against Lahore.
Mir Hamza [Arif Ali/AFP via Getty Images]
As poor as his side have been this season, Babar Azam is always hugely dangerous at the top of the order, and he is undoubtedly the key wicket Quetta Gladiators will target.
The Pakistan captain has 307 runs this season, placing him fifth overall in PSL7, and has been the only Karachi Kings player to deliver anything meaningful with the bat. Sharjeel Khan has 215 runs to his name, almost 100 fewer than his captain, but no other Karachi Kings batter has more than 150 runs.
Quetta Gladiators’ most prolific bowler so far has been Naseem Shah, with 12 wickets in 9 matches, so he will likely be the man Sarfaraz Ahmed turns to.
Quetta will also look to their top order to exploit the power play, with Roy, Ahsan Ali and Will Smeed combining for 701 runs already this season - and Smeed and Roy having played only five games each.
The concern for Quetta, though, is where the runs come from if their three main batters should struggle, so Jordan and the rest of the Karachi attack will hope to force that question on their opponents on Sunday.
Expect this game to be won or lost by the performances of the openers.
Matches played: 13
Quetta Gladiators wins: 8
Karachi Kings wins: 5
It’s set to a perfect day in Lahore on Sunday, with temperatures reaching as high as 22 degrees Celsius.
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 (withdrew February 19), 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
Karachi Kings: Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Amir, Joe Clarke, Sharjeel Khan, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Ilyas, Chris Jordan, Lewis Gregory, Umaid Asif, Tom Abell (injured, replaced by Ian Cockbain), Rohail Nazir, Muhammad Imran, Faisal Akram, Qasim Akram, Talha Ahsan, Romario Shepherd (unavailable, replaced by Tom Lammonby), Usman Shinwari (injury replacement for Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Ilyas)
Supplementary round: Sahibzada Farhan, Jordan Thompson
Partial replacement: Mohammad Taha Khan
Jason Roy [Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images]
Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Will Smeed, Ahsan Ali, Umar Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Noor Ahmed, Naseem Shah, Ghulam Mudassar, Mohammad Irfan
Karachi Kings: Joe Clarke, Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Qasim Akram, Rohail Nazir, Mohammad Nabi, Imad Nasim, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Usman Khan Shinwari, Mir Hamza
Quetta Gladiators are available at 4/6 while Karachi Kings are at 6/5.
Karachi will fancy their chances ending their tournament on a high against a side only one place above them in the table. However, Quetta’s convincing win in the reverse fixture suggests another defeat is on the cards for last-placed Karachi.
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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