Karachi Kings will be heading to a must-win contest against Quetta Gladiators on 19 June to stay alive for a Playoffs berth, in Match 29 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi.
After suffering three defeats on the trot, Imad Wasim’s Karachi beat Lahore Qalandars by seven runs in their last encounter. Coming to bat first, Babar Azam (54), Martin Guptill (43) and Imad (30* off 19) helped Karachi reach 176/5. Noor Ahmad, 16, then returned figures of 4-0-19-2 to restrict Lahore to 169/7.
Quetta are the only team that are out of the Playoffs race. Sarfraz Ahmed’s men were humiliated by Multan Sultans with a 110-run defeat in their recent outing. Chasing 184, they were bundled out for 73 in just 12.1 overs. In fact, no Quetta batter scored in excess of 20 in that contest.
Karachi had bowled Quetta out for 121 in 18.2 overs when the two sides last met. Arshad Iqbal had figures of 4-1-16-3 that day. Coming to a puny chase, Joe Clarke (46 off 23) and Mohammad Nabi (30* off 14) helped Karachi reach the target with 37 balls to spare.
Head to Head
Quetta have played Karachi 11 times. They have won seven and lost four.
Probable XIs
Quetta Gladiators: Jake Weatherald, Usman Khan, Cameron Delport, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c and wk), Azam Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Hassan Khan, Usman Shinwari, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Hasnain
Karachi Kings: Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Martin Guptill, Najibullah Zadran, Chadwick Walton (wk), Imad Wasim (c), Danish Aziz, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Ilyas, Abbas Afridi, Noor Ahmad
Prediction
Karachi to win the contest.