Defending champions resume their Pak T20 League 2021 campaign when they will lock horns against struggling Multan. Both sides separate each other by four points.
Match Timings: June 10, 6:30 PM IST
Team Preview
Pak T20 League 2021 will have a first doubleheader day on Thursday and the first game will be between Babar Azam and Rizwan. Babar Azam is not the captain of Karachi but he is the key figure of the side. Both sides had a different story in the Karachi leg. Karachi won three matches out of five and they are sitting at the second spot with six points, while Multan have just two points from five matches. This game is really important for Multan to step closer towards the playoffs.
Multan made a big move this year by appointing Mohammad Rizwan as their new skipper and it didn’t work out. Last season, Multan finished in the top two and lost to Karachi in a super-over game. They gonna miss their key overseas players in the second half. Chris Lynn, James Vince, Adam Lyth, Carlos Brathwaite, Obed McCoy, and Mahmudullah have been ruled out of the remainder of the season. Veteran all-rounder Shahid Afridi has already made himself unavailable but it will not harm the Multan side. They have signed Zimbabwe’s bowling star Blessing Muzarabani who troubled Babar in recent home series. They have also included some key overseas players like Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Shimron Hetmyer, and Johnson Charles. Imran Tahir is now their main front-line spinner who will now play all matches here due to pitch’s behaviour.
Rahmanullah Gurbaz may now open with captain Rizwan, followed by Hetmyer and Rossouw in middle. It will also create confusion if they pick Tahir in the eleven. It means, Blessing Muzarabani will be miss out. Shan Masood will find a way in the XI this time and Khusdil Shah will be promoted up in the order. Usman Qadir will be their second spinner along with Tahir. Sohail Tanvir might be included if Muzarabani misses out.
Meanwhile, Karachi is in good touch and they have a solid chance to crack the playoffs. If they beat Multan here, then they would enhance their chances to finish in the top two this time. Karachi will also miss some key overseas players like Colin Ingram, Mohammad Nabi, Dan Christian, Joe Clarke, and Liton Das. They have invested in the draft and got Thisara Perera, Najibullah Zadran, and Martin Guptill.
The opening slot will be the same as Sharjeel and Babar will be there. Guptill might replace Joe Clarke at number three and Perera will be a good replacement for Christian to add the fire at down order. Either Najibullah Zadran or Walton may be considered in middle-order. Amir will have a big responsibility now and Imad also has to bowl more in the middle-overs as he bowled only 13 overs in the first 5 overs. Noor Ahmad will also be back in playing XI because of his left-arm spin. Abu Dhabi’s surface will be helpful to spin especially in evening games.
It should be a cracking contest between Karachi and Multan but due to the latest draft, Multan have a slight edge this time. Karachi’s game will rely on toss and their top-order. Karachi won three out of the last five games and one game was canceled out. They also faced each other in March this year and Karachi won this game by 7 wickets.
Pitch Report
Abu Dhabi’s surface is a decent T20 surface and it will offer a good amount of help to spin. It will be an evening game as per the local time so we may expect some assistance to the pace in the first half. Chasing would be slightly easier in this game.
Possible XI
Karachi
Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Martin Guptill, Chadwick Walton/Zadran, Imad Wasim (c), Thisara Perera, Mohammad Ilyas, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Arshad Iqbal, Noor Ahmed
Multan
Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Khusdil Shah, Shimron Hetmyer, Rilee Rossouw, Sohaib Maqsood, Sohail Khan, Imran Tahir, Imran Khan, Shahnawaz Dhani, Usman Qadir
Key Players
Karachi
Babar Azam
Having a top-form in T20s, 258 runs so far in Pak T20 League 2021
Noor Ahmed
Might be handy on this track with his left-arm spin
Multan
Mohammad Rizwan
Having a top-form in T20s, leading run-scorer in Pak T20 League 2021 with 297 runs
Shahnawaz Dhani
9 wickets so far in tournament at an avg of 17.22
