Quetta Gladiators registered their first win of PSL 2022 and climbed to the second spot on the PSL points table after winning their match against Karachi Kings convincingly. Kings, on the other hand, stay winless in their first two matches and are at the bottom of the table.
Karachi got off to a horrid start as Quetta’s tight-knit bowling unit restricted the run-flow and picked wickets at regular intervals. Young fiery pacer, Naseem Shah was the pick of the bowlers as he picked up his first five-wicket haul in PSL history. Karachi finished the innings with their fourth-lowest total in PSL history as they were bowled out for 113 within 18 overs.
Quetta did not break a sweat as they chased down the target comfortably. Openers Ahsan Ali and Will Smeed put on an opening stand of 76 runs and the Gladiators chased down the target with 8 wickets in hand.
Naseem Shah was announced as the player of the match for his exceptional performance. He finished with figures of 5/20 in 3.3 overs.
Pre-Match
Former champions Karachi Kings and Quetta Gladiators will go head to head in the fourth match of the PSL 2022 on Saturday, 29 January. The match, scheduled at Karachi’s National Stadium, will start at 7:30 pm PST.
Match Preview
Both Karachi and Quetta will be determined to overcome disappointing losses in their opening encounters and put in a much-improved display as they face off against each other in their second match of the campaign. Karachi got off to a sluggish start in PSL 2022 as they convincingly lost against Multan Sultans.
Babar’s troops will be looking to turn around their fortunes and give the home crowd something to cheer about. Kings will be boosted by the return of former captain Imad Wasim who has fully recovered from COVID-19 and is expected to start the match while experienced pacer, Mohammad Amir is also in his final stages of recovery and might get the go-ahead by the doctors to feature in the match.
Gladiators, on the other hand, were impressive in their first outing but were unable to defend a good total as they agonizingly lost to Peshawar Zalmi on Friday night. Exceptional performances by young players Will Smeed, Ahsan Ali, and Naseem Shah will give them confidence ahead of the crucial tie against the Kings. Quetta will be hoping that their experienced players, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, and James Faulkner can put in a much-improved display as compared to their previous performance.
Match Details
- Date Saturday, 29 January 2022
- Time 07:30 pm PKT
- Venue National Stadium Karachi
- Live Stream LINK
Possible Playing XIs:
Karachi Possible XI –Babar Azam (c), Sharjeel Khan, Joe Clarke (wk), Mohammad Nabi, Tom Lammonby, Lewis Gregory, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Imran Jr., Talha Ahsan, Umaid Asif, Mohammad Ilyas
Check out Karachi’s full squad here
Quetta Possible XI –Sarfaraz Ahmed (c)(wk), Will Smeed, Ahsan Ali, Ben Duckett, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Luke Wood, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Ashir Qureshi
Check out Quetta’s full squad here
Head to Head
Overall, the two sides have come face to face 12 times in the tournament. Gladiators have an upper hand as they have won 7 while Kings have won 5. They last faced each other on 19 June 2021 in Abu Dhabi; Karachi won it by 14 runs.
X-Factor
Karachi’s captain, Babar Azam will be determined to pile on the runs after a disappointing performance in his previous outing. Count Babar out on your own peril as he has shown time and time again that he bounces back once his back is against the wall. Babar will be crucial for Karachi as he provides them composure at the top of the order.
Quetta’s young pace sensation, Naseem Shah was one of the shining lights in an otherwise poor bowling display. Naseem’s pace will be the key for Gladiators as they look to restrict their opponents to a much lower total.
