Karachi and Peshawar lock horns in today’s afternoon-clash of Pak T20 League 2021. Karachi are on a roller-coaster ride with two wins and two losses, while Peshawar is boosted after three consecutive wins.
Match Timings: March 03, 2:30 PM IST
Team Preview
Defending champions had a different campaign this year, and apart from the trend of toss, they failed to draw attention. The consistency is still missing in Karachi’s team. They have played four matches so far and lost two out of those. The last defeat came while defending 186. They could have grabbed two points from that night, but bowlers let them down at a crucial phase of the game. Sharjeel Khan shined with the bat by scoring 64 off just 39 balls, and Mohammed Nabi provided a finishing touch with 35-balls 57.
In the last two overs, they added just 10 runs, and it made all the difference. Karachi got two wickets in the first over, and it opened the game for them, but in middle-overs, they offered the comeback on the plate. Mohammed Hafeez got out in 5th over, and the match was set for Karachi after the powerplay. When Fakhar got out after 54-balls 83, Lahore required 35 off 16 balls, and Karachi could have stopped Lahore from chasing this total, but David Wiese smashed 31 off just 9 balls to finish the game with four balls spare. Karachi has the best batting unit with some experienced players. Babar Azam and Sharjeel are in top form at the top, and the middle-order has a good depth with Nabi and Christian. Imad has to use his bowlers smartly, considering the toss factor.
Meanwhile, Peshawar is highly boosted after making a hattrick of wins in Pak T20 League 2021. They can find themselves lucky as their captain has won three tosses out of four, and toss is everything this season. Wahab battered his performance in the last game. After conceding 51 runs against Quetta, the skipper picked a 4-wicket haul for 17 runs. Saqib Mahmood also grabbed 3-wickets, and Islamabad were bowled out on just 118 runs. Peshawar lost Kamran and Imam in the first two overs, but Cadmore and Haider Ali crossed the line for their side. Peshawar now have six points from four matches, and they are at the top of the table. One more victory will put them ahead in the race of playoffs. Toss will be a key factor, but a better batting side will have a better advantage.
Pitch Report
Karachi’s surface is a batting-friendly wicket, and it gets better later the match progresses. Pacers can get slight help with the new ball. Chasing is a great idea after winning the toss.
Possible XI
Karachi
Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Joe Clarke (wk), Colin Ingram, Mohammad Nabi, Daniel Christian, Imad Wasim (c), Waqas Maqsood, Mohammad Amir, Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Ilyas
Peshawar
Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal (wk), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Haider Ali, Shoaib Malik, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz (c), Saqib Mahmood, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Mohammad Imran, Umaid Asif
Key Players
Karachi
Sharjeel Khan
This season – M: 4, Runs: 200, Avg: 50
Babar Azam
This season – M: 4, Runs: 181, Avg: 60.33
Peshawar
Wahab Riaz
This season – M: 4, Wickets: 8, Avg: 19
Tom Kohler-Cadmore
This season – M: 3, Runs: 103, Avg: 34.33
