Karachi Kings take on Peshawar Zalmi in the 13th match of the ongoing, second season of Pakistan Super League at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Sunday evening.
Both teams have struggled to be consistent so far with Karachi winning only one of their five games while Peshawar managing two in five. A win today will help one of the two stay away from danger of slipping out of contention for play-offs spot.
Karachi though are heading into the match on the back of their first win of the tournament. Kumar Sangakkara-led team defeated Islamabad United by eight runs in a rain-reduced match at the same venue on Friday.
Despite their win, batting failure of key men including skipper Sangakkara, Chris Gayle and Ravi Bopara looks to be an area of concern for Karachi. If they are to qualify for the play-offs from their current situation, the West Indies big-hitter, who has scored ony 19 runs from four games, has to step up and lead from the front with the bat.
On the other hand, Peshawar might be looking to rotate their squad as they are playing right after their five-wicket defeat to Islamabad yesterday. They were able to post only 136 on the board as they key batsmen including skipper Darren Sammy and England import Eoin Morgan were not able to capitalise on their starts.
Peshawar's consistency has suffered as they were part of the low-scoring thriller against Lahore Qalandars and the washed-out game against Quetta Gladiators. However, with the likes of Shakib Al Hasan joining their squad, they will look to stitch more wins. A battered Karachi unit might be the ideal opposition to beat and start a winning streak.
TV Schedule
Pakistan: Ten Sports, PTV, Geo Super
Sri Lanka: Ten Sports, CSN
UK: Prime TV
West Indies: Flow TV
Bangladesh: Gazi TV
UAE: OSN Sports
Team News
Karachi
Possible XI: Sangakkara (c & wk), Hasan, Gayle, Babar, Malik, Bopara, Pollard, Wasim, Amir, Sohail, Abrar
Peshawar
Possible XI: Sammy (c), Hafeez, Malan, K Akmal (wk), Morgan, Sohail, Afridi, Asghar, Riaz, Shakib, Ali
