DUBAI: Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings will square off in the third and final playoff at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium tonight.
It’s a do-or-die for both the teams as they battle it out for a berth in the final, where the winning team will meet Quetta Gladiators at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on March 5.
Zalmi faced an agonizing one-run loss at the hands of Quetta Gladiators in the first playoff on Tuesday. Chasing Gladiators’ 200, Zalmi took the game right down to the last over. However, Muhammad Nawaz’s exemplary death bowling, coupled with two sharp run-outs by Sarfraz Ahmed, snatched the win from Darren Sammy’s men.
Kings, meanwhile, are fresh off their 44-run victory against Islamabad United in Wednesday’s eliminator, which knocked out last year’s champions from the competition as Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Usama Mir helped the team defend a below-par target of 127.
Kings and Zalmi clashed twice in this tournament. Zalmi won the first encounter by 7 wickets while Kings won the second faceoff by 9 runs.
Kings batsman Babar Azam is the top-scorer in this PSL with 290 runs so far, overtaking Islamabad United’s Dwayne Smith in the second playoff.
Kings pacer Sohail Khan is the tournament’s highest wicket-taker with 15 wickets to his name.
For Zalmi, Kamran Akmal is the top scorer with 209 runs.
Wahab Riaz, with 10 wickets, is the top wicket-taker for Zalmi.
Squads
Peshawar Zalmi: Darren Sammy (captain), Shahid Afridi, Sohaib Maqsood, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Hafeez, Chris Jordan, Kamran Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Asghar, Khushdil Shah, Junaid Khan, Imran Khan Jr, M. Irfan Khan, Marlon Samuels, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Samit Patel, Dawid Malan
Karachi Kings: Kumar Sangakkara (captain), Shoaib Malik, Chris Gayle, Babar Azam, Ravi Bopara, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Saifullah Bangash, Shahzaib Hasan, Sohail Khan, Kieron Pollard, Ryan Mclaren, Khurram Manzoor, Kashif Bhatti, Abrar Ahmed, Usama Mir, Mahela Jayawardene, Rahat Ali, Hasan Mohsin, Amad Alam
