Karachi Kings
Islamabad United
ISU and KRK have squared off against one another 18 times in the PSL, with Islamabad winning 12 and Karachi Kings winning 6. Islamabad has a batting line-up that is thought to be the greatest in comparison to others in the league.
Islamabad United have won the PSL twice and are the only team to have won the championship twice. However, they have not performed up to expectations on the previous four occasions. Meanwhile, Karachi Kings have won PSL once in 2020. However, they have lost their opening encounter. As a reason, the online bookies have kept the odds in favour of ISU for this tie.
Karachi KingsIslamabad UnitedDuring their first game, the Karachi Kings chose to have Matthew Wade open the batting in place of James Vince, and they are relying on Sharjeel Khan, Qasim Akram, and Haider Ali to perform well at the top of the order. Along with Ben Cutting and Imad Wasim in the middle order, Shoaib Malik is anticipated to deliver power against spin and be able to end innings. Mohammad Amir, Mir Hamza, Andrew Tye, and Cutting are the pacers in the squad, while Imran Tahir and Imad complete the spin department.
James Vince is likely to replace Matthew Wade as an opener and in the playing XI. Their team could be:
Predicted Lineup: S Malik, JM Vince, Sharjeel Khan, Haider Ali, IM Wasim(C), Qasim Akram, MS Wade, Mohammad Amir, AJ Tye, Imran Tahir, Mir Hamza
In the first two weeks of the tournament, Alex Hales will not be able to take part, while Rahmanullah Gurbaz is busy with international duties. Islamabad United have a pretty solid line-up as well. Paul Stirling, Colin Munro, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, and Asif Ali are the match winners in the team and management have big hopes for all of them. Meanwhile in bowling, Faheem Ashraf, Tom Curran, Mohammad Wasim Jr. and Hasan Ali have a habit of giving away runs and they have to improve on that. Their ability to bat, however, gives the squad a deep bench. After excelling in Tests, Abrar Ahmed will also be able to showcase his skills in the PSL.
Islamabad United are likely to play their strongest men in their first match of the season this year.
Predicted Lineup: Paul Stirling, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Colin Munro, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Asif Ali, Tom Curran, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Hasan Ali, Abrar Ahmed
With an aggressive bowling line-up, and a decent batting strength - the Karachi Kings have a better chance in this match to topple Islamabad United. They have already lost the first match and will look to prove their point in this match. We also expect Abrar Ahmed to be a key figure and his spin might be a bit of worry for ISU.
