Peshawar Zalmi will take on Multan Sultans tonight at the National Bank Arena as both teams fight for a place in the final as PSL draws closer to climax.
Rizwan and his Sultans were the first team to qualify for the playoffs and with 7 wins in the season they are poised to reach the final of the ninth edition of PSL. However, in front of them is Babar Azam’s Zalmi, a team that has defeated them twice in the group stage and has turned out to be a bogey team for the Sultans this year.
Peshawar sealed their second place comfortably after defeating Karachi Kings in a dramatic thriller. A game in which they triumphed on the last ball by 2 runs and now they have a chance to play 2 matches in the playoffs.
Even if they lose Qualifier 1 from here they will play the eliminator against Quetta Gladiators or Islamabad United and can book a place in the final by winning that game.
Babar Azam will surely look to make some changes as they need fast bowling options after the departure of Naveen Ul Haq. It is expected that Salman Irshad and Khurram Shahzad might come back into the squad.
Multan Sultans will likely remain unchanged as the team is formidable already.
Pitch Report:
Known as a chasing-friendly wicket, the par score in the 1st innings during PSL 9 at the Karachi stadium is 172.
Teams batting 2nd have won 80% of the matches, which means that an above-par score is required on this particular pitch to defend it.
Multan Sultans’ innings against the Quetta Gladiators was a testament that anything above 180 on this National Bank Arena pitch can be defended easily. The pitch can show signs of turn if there is moisture and that was visible in the Karachi vs Zalmi game.
However, both the teams like to bat first and set up big totals. The openers will have to play the new ball steadily in the first 6 overs as there will be swing and seam early on in the innings.
You can check out the full PSL schedule here.
Head-to-Head Record:
| Team | Matches | Wins | Losses |
| Multan Sultans | Â Â Â Â 14 | 10 | 4 |
| Peshawar Zalmi | 4 | 10 |
Expected Playing XIs
Check out the PSL 9 squads here.
Multan Sultans:
| Muhammad Rizwan (C)(WK) | Yasir Khan | Iftikhar Ahmed | Chris Jordan | Usama Mir | Mohammad Ali |
| Usman Khan | Johnson Charles | Tayyab Tahir | David Willey | Abbas Afridi |
Peshawar Zalmi:
| Saim Ayub | Muhammad Haris (wk) | Tom Kohler Cadmore | Aamer Jamal | Mehran Mumtaz | Khurram Shahzad |
| Babar Azam (c) | Haseeb Ullah Khan | Rovman Powell | Luke Wood | Salman Irshad |
Check out the PSL 9 Points Table here.
