Match Details
Date: 14 February 2023
Time: 7 PM IST
Venue: National Stadium, Karachi
Live Scores: SportsTiger App
Preview
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has made a move to Peshawar Zalmi from Karachi Kings and his new team has been pitted against Imad Wasim’s Kings in its opening fixture. It is expected to be a cracker of a game with both teams wanting to start the tournament on a high. Also, the pre-tournament talks, especially from Kings’ captain Imad Wasim has made this clash an interesting one. While Babar Azam fans will want to prove Wasim wrong, the Kings fans would want Babar to regret his decision to make a move from Karachi.
However, they would not forget how the team fared in the last edition of the tournaments. Karachi Kings finished at the bottom of the points table with a solitary win. Kings’ solitary win came against tournament champions Lahore Qalandars. Babar Azam had a good tournament as he finished as the sixth-highest run-getter but could not help his team create an impact.
On the other hand, Peshawar Zalmi, under Wahab Riaz did reasonably well as they managed to win six of their ten league games. The Zalmi finished in third place on the points table and played in Eliminator 1. Although they got knocked out after losing to Islamabad United, the Zalmi performed well throughout the tournament. Now, with Babar Azam at the helm of affairs, they will expect an even better performance.
Pitch Report
The Karachi pitch is considered one of the best batting pitches in Pakistan. However, as it will be an evening game, the seamers are expected to get some help. The spinners will be in contention in the middle overs.
Karachi Kings Squad: Haider Ali, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Shoaib Malik, Aamir Yamin, Mir Hamza, Sharjeel Khan, Qasim Akram, Matthew Wade, Imran Tahir, James Vince, James Fuller, Andrew Tye, Tayyab Tahir, Mohammad Akhlaq, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mohammad Umar, Ben Cutting, Musa Khan, Faisal Akram (partial replacement for Tabraiz Shamsi), Adam Rossington (partial replacement for James Vince)
Peshawar Zalmi Squad: Babar Azam, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Haris, Aamir Jamal, Salman Irshad, Tom-Kohler Cadmore, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rovman Powell, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Danish Aziz, Arshad Iqbal, Saim Ayub, Usman Qadir, Suifyan Muqeem, Haseeb Ullah, Jimmy Neesham, Khurram Shahzad, Haris Sohail, Richard Gleeson (partial replacement for Rovman Powell), Peter Hatzoglou (partial replacement for Mujeeb ur Rahman)
Match Prediction
If Karachi Kings bat: Score- 145-160; Peshawar Zalmi will Win
If Peshawar Zalmi bat: Score- 150-175; Peshawar Zalmi will Win
Conclusion
Peshawar Zalmi have got a great opening pair in Babar Azam and Mohammad Haris. The Zalmi also have great overseas talent in the form of Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Rovman Powell. Meanwhile, Karachi have a few loopholes in their squad that can be exploited by the opposition. So, Peshawar Zalmi are expected to win the match on Tuesday.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the author’s point of view. They neither reflect the opinion of SportsTiger nor advise anyone to make any prediction based on this. SportsTiger does not assume any responsibility and liability for the same.