With defending champions Karachi Kings on their heels, Multan Sultans and Lahore Qalandars face off in a crucial Pakistans Super League (PSL) 2021 match in Abu Dhabi, UAE on Friday. Kings defeated Qalandars by seven runs yesterday to keep their play-off hopes alive and making the top-four fight interesting. (More Cricket News)
As things stand now, Qalandars, who lost to Kings in the final last season, are third with 10 points from nine matches, while Sultans are fourth with eight points from eight matches. Peshawar Zalmi are also with ten points and are second behind Islamabad United, who are already assured of top-placed finish with 14 points from nine matches so far.
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So, two teams with ten points each and another two with eight points each are fighting for three spots. Quetta Gladiators are already (four points from nine matches) out of play-off contentions.
Mohammad Rizwan's Sultans are on a three-match winning spree -- against Kings by 12 runs, against Zalmi by eight wickets and against Gladiators by 110 runs -- all in Abu Dhabi. If they win the remaining matches, will have 12 points for a second-place finish. They will take on United in their final league game on Saturday.
Imad Wasim's Qalandars were in a prime position for a top-two finish with back-to-back wins at the start of Abu Dhabi leg, but lost three on the bounce -- against United by 28 runs, Gladiators by 18 runs and Kings by seven runs. A defeat tonight and they will rely on other results for a play-off place.
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Saturday double-header Gladiators vs Kings in the early start and Sultans vs United in the second match.
Each team plays 10 league matches in this six-team T20 cricket league, with the top four qualifying for the play-offs -- Qualifier to be competed by the top two; Eliminator 1 by the third and fourth-placed teams, then Eliminator 2 by the loser of Qualifier and winner of Eliminator 1.
Head-to-head: It's 4-4. In the reverse fixture this season, Sultans won by seven wickets in Karachi.
Match and telecast details
Match: 28th match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 between Multan Sultans Vs Lahore Qalandars
Date: June 18 (Friday), 2021
Time: 9:30 PM IST/ 8:00 PM local
Venue: Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, UAE
TV Channels: Sony Pictures Network
Live Streaming: SonyLIV
Playing XIs in the last match
Multan Sultans (vs Quetta Gladiators): Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Shan Masood, Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Johnson Charles, Khushdil Shah, Sohail Tanvir, Blessing Muzarabani, Shahnawaz Dhani, Imran Khan, Imran Tahir.
Lahore Qalandars (vs Karachi Kings): Fakhar Zaman, Sohail Akhtar (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Tim David, Agha Salman, Rashid Khan, James Faulkner, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf, Ahmed Daniyal.
Squads
Multan Sultans: Mohammad Rizwan (c), Asif Afridi, Hammad Azam, Imran Tahir, Imran Khan Snr, Johnson Charles, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Umar, Blessing Muzarabani, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rilee Rossouw, Shahnawaz Dhani, Shan Masood, Shimron Hetmyer (partially available), Sohaib Maqsood, Sohaibullah, Sohail Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Usman Qadir and Muhammad Waseem.
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Lahore Qalandars: Imad Wasim (c), Abbas Afridi, Amir Yamin, Arshad Iqbal, Babar Azam, Chadwick Walton, Danish Aziz, Martin Guptill, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Ilyas, Mohammad Haris, Thisara Perera, Najeebullah Zadran, Noor Ahmed, Qasim Akram, Sharjeel Khan, Waqas Maqsood and Zeeshan Malik.
