Peshawar Zalmi will face Karachi Kings on 21 June, in Eliminator 1 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi. Both sides have five wins and as many defeats in the league phase.
In their last encounter, Peshawar lost to Islamabad United by 15 runs. Chasing a record 248, Kamran Akmal (53 off 32), Shoaib Malik (68 off 36), Sherfane Rutherford (29 of 8) set the stage on fire before finishing at 232/6.
Defending champions Karachi have struggled in the UAE leg of the tournament. They were at top of the table when PSL was suspended a few months ago, and that initial lead helped them edge past Lahore Qalandars for a Playoffs berth on net run rate. Their qualification was guaranteed by a 14-run win over Quetta Gladiators in their last outing.
Having scored 501 runs at 71.57 and a strike rate of 134, Babar Azam will be the key for Karachi. He will be up against a quality Peshawar seam attack, led by Wahab Riaz, who is in scintillating form, having picked 14 wickets this season.
Head to Head
Peshawar have played Karachi 14 times. They have won nine and lost five.
Probable XIs
Peshawar Zalmi: Kamran Akmal (wk), Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, David Miller, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Fabian Allen, Wahab Riaz (c), Umaid Asif, Mohammad Imran, Mohammad Irfan
Karachi Kings: Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Martin Guptill, Najibullah Zadran, Chadwick Walton (wk), Danish Aziz, Imad Wasim (c), Mohammad Amir, Arshad Iqbal, Noor Ahmad, Mohammad Ilyas
Prediction
Karachi to win the contest.