What an exciting start it was to the PSL 2020 play- offs. Yes, like we expected the Saturday double- header went down the wire and gave some amazing moments to remember. The Qualifier 1 kept us at the edge of the seat till the very last ball as the match was taken super- over and ended up in the favor of the Karachi kings, who managed to qualify to the finals for the first time in the history of the league.
The Eliminator 2 which is scheduled to take place on Sunday will feature Multan Sultans and Eliminator 1 winner- Lahore Qalandars. The match is set to take place at the same venue as the previous two matches of the play- offs.
The teams have faced each other twice in this season and stand one a piece. The first encounter went in favor of Shan Masood and Co. by a comfortable margin of 5 wickets. The second encounter saw an excellent comeback by the Qalandars, they went down to chase the humongous target of 186 runs with 9 wickets and seven balls to spare.
This will be the second shot at the Grand prize for the Multan Sultans. The Lahore side after a spirited chase against the Peshawar Zalmi which was headed by the veteran Pakistani all- rounder Mohammed Hafeez will be feeling much more confident coming into this all- important knock- out match.
It is now guaranteed that the Pakistan Super League 2020 will see a new champion. Who do you think can prevail in the nerve-racking match?
Match Toss Time: 19:30 Local (20:00 IST)
Match Start Time: 20:00 Local (20:30 IST)
Match Venue: National Stadium, Karachi
Weather Report
The conditions are ideal or cricket as clear skies are expected throughout the day. The temperature is expected to be hovering in the 25 degree range. The humidity is slightly on the lesser as compared to the previous days- around the 52 percent range.
Pitch
The pitch as saw in the last two matches has been a very good strip for the batsmen and is expected to behave the same way. Said that, there is a possibility for the pitch to slow down a bit given the heavy usage but the freshness of the pitch may prove us wrong. The due could be seen playing a vital role again.
Lahore Qalandars managed to chase down the target of 170 with ease and for that reason a safe score by the team batting first would be around the 180- 190 run mark. The team winning the toss should be looking to chase.
Team News
The Multan side were a strong side in the group stages but ended up on the losing side against the Karachi kings by a narrow margin. The side went in with English all- rounder Adam Lyth in place of Moeen Ali. They would not have much to complain after the close finish in the match and will be looking to feature the same Xl against Lahore Qalandars.
Lahore Qalandars had an excellent outing against the Peshawar Zalmis credit to the former Pakistan captain Mohammed Hafeez for his unbeaten knock of 74 of just 46 balls to take his side over the line. Though the top- order will be a concern, given the potential of the players they are it could be worth playing the same Xl in this crucial encounter.
Probable Playing Xl
Multan Sultans (MS): Adam Lyth, Zeeshan Ashraf (wk), Shan Masood (c), Rilee Rossouw, Ravi Bopara, Khushdil Shah, Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Ilyas, Imran Tahir, Mohammad Irfan
Lahore Qalandars (LHQ): Fakhar Zaman, Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Hafeez, Sohail Akhtar (c), Ben Dunk (wk), Samit Patel, David Wiese, Muhammad Faizan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Dilbar Hussain
MS vs LHQ Fantasy Team
Zeeshan Ashraf, Ben Dunk, Khushdil Shah, Shan Masood, Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Tanvir, David Wiese, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Ilyas, Imran Tahir, Shaheen Afridi
Captain Picks: Mohammad Hafeez (LHQ), Sohail Tanvir (MS)
Vice- Captain Picks: Shaheen Afridi (LHQ), Shan Masood (MS)
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