The league stage of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 has concluded, paving the way for the playoffs. The first qualifier match is scheduled to take place on March 14th between Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi at the National Cricket Stadium in Karachi.
Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi: A Clash of Titans
Both teams have shown remarkable form throughout the season. Multan Sultan’s dominance saw them secure the top spot on the table with 7 wins out of 10 matches, accumulating 14 points. Meanwhile, Peshawar Zalmi secured the second spot with 6 wins out of 10 matches, earning 13 points.
The winner of this clash will directly advance to the final, adding extra pressure to the encounter. Now, let’s take a look at the pitch report for the first qualifier in Karachi.
Pitch Conditions in Karachi
The pitch at the National Cricket Stadium in Karachi offers an exciting contest between batsmen and bowlers. It provides good bounce, particularly aiding fast bowlers in the initial overs. As the match progresses, spinners also come into play, making it a balanced pitch for both batting and bowling.
So far, 14 matches have been played at this stadium, with teams winning 8 matches batting first and 6 matches batting second. The average first innings score at this ground is 181, while for the second innings, it’s 148. The team winning the toss is likely to opt for batting first to set a challenging target on the board.
Team Compositions
Peshawar Zalmi
- Babar Azam (Captain)
- Saif Badar
- Mohammad Haris
- Haseebullah Khan
- Tom Kohler-Cadmore
- Rovman Powell
- Amir Jamal
- Luke Wood
- Naween Ul Haq
- Mehran Mumtaz
- Aimal Khan
- Asif Ali
- Paul Walter
- Arshad Iqbal
- Salman Irshad
- Waqar Salamkheil
- Den Mousley
- Khurram Shehzad
- Mohammad Jishan
- Shamarh Joseph
- Arif Yakub
- Umar Amin
Multan Sultans
- Mohammad Rizwan (Captain)
- Yasir Khan
- Usman Khan
- Johnson Charles
- Iftekhar Ahmed
- Chris Jordan
- Tayyab Tahir
- David Willey
- Usama Mir
- Abbas Afridi
- Mohammad Ali
- Mohammad Shahzad
- David Malan
- Richard Ngarava
- Khushdil Shah
- Shah Nawaz Dhani
- Faisal Akram
- Ali Majid
- Aftab Ibrahim
As the stage is set for a thrilling encounter, cricket fans eagerly await to witness a spectacle of power-hitting and strategic bowling in the first qualifier of PSL 2024.