Good Evening! Hello and Welcome to Cricket Country’s live coverage of the third match of the second edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2017. The match will see Peshawar Zalmi taking on Karachi Kings at Dubai. The tournament got off to a rollicking start on Thursday with defending champions Islamabad United beat Zalmi by 7 wickets. Zalmi posted 190 from their stipulated 20 overs. It was Kamran Akmal’s 88 that bolstered the team total. The rain delay meant that United were chasing a revised total of 173 from 18 overs. Zalmis could not defend the massive score, as Dwayne Smith and Brad Haddin went on to belt brisk fifties.
Zalmis have a chance to notch up a win against the Karachi side on Friday. But for that to happen, they will have to bowl better. Senior pros like Shahid Afridi will need to step up. Karachi Kings lost 6 and won 2 in the last edition. They were a busy side in the transfer market making sweeping changes. Shoaib Malik was replaced by Ravi Bopara as the captain in the qualifier last year. This year they have brought in Kumar Sangakkara to lead the side and icing on the cake was bagging of Chris Gayle from Lahore Qalandars. Then there is the fiery Kieron Pollard. They have quality local young players in Imad Wasim, Babar Azam and Mohammad Aamer, which make them one of the favourites for the tournament.
They also have some big names in the coaching staff. Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur is at helm of affairs, while Azhar Mahmood is the assistant coach. Also, the side has Rashid Latif as their director. The Kings truly wear a kingly look with big names, and will want to kick start their campaign with a thumping win.
All in all, the third game of the contest is expected to be another cracking encounter between two evenly matched sides.
Squads:
Karachi Kings: Kumar Sangakkara (c), Chris Gayle, Shoaib Malik, Kieron Pollard, Mohammad Aamer, Babar Azam, Ryan McLaren, Sohail Khan, Shahzaib Hasan, Saifullah Bangash, Khurram Manzoor, Kashif Bhatti, Abrar Ahmed, Abdul Hameed, Ravi Bopara, Imad Wasim.
Supplementary players: Mahela Jayawardene, Usama Mir, Rahat Ali, Amad Alam.