February 26, 2020
After a break of two days, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) action returns to our television screens with the match action now in Multan.
Hosting its first-ever PSL match, the Multan Cricket Stadium will play host to Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi in the eighth-match of the tournament.
Zalmi, who have appeared in every edition of the PSL since its inception in 2016, have one of the best records in the tournament, having lifted the title in 2017 and finishing up at runners-up in 2018 and 2019.
On the other hand, Sultans who made their debut in 2018, are yet to find a footing in the tournament, finishing fifth in both their previous appearances in the tournament.
Sitting on the third and fourth spot on the points table, both Sultans and Zalmi have two points each after playing two matches.
The Shan Masood-Sultans kicked off the tournament on high, defeating Lahore Qalandars by five wickets at their home ground at Gaddafi Stadium, but lost their second match to Islamabad United a day later by eight wickets.
Zalmi, on the other hand, were beaten by Karachi Kings in the first game by 10 runs in an edge-of-the-seat thriller at the National Stadium. Zalmi turned things around, beating defending champions Quetta Gladiators by six wickets in their next match.
When it comes to the squads, the Darren Sammy-led Peshawar comes out looking stronger with a host of experienced players, both local and international. Wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal, the hero of the match against Gladiators still can hit around the park when called to action, with Windies all-rounders Carlos Brathwaite, Kieron Pollard along with Liam Dawson, Liam Livingstone, Wahab Riaz and Hassan Ali making up a much well-balanced squad.
Not to be left behind are Sultans who boast the star power of Shahid Afridi. Though Afridi’s power-hitting days might be far behind, the man can still make a crowd go wild.
A strong batting line up consisting of Masood, James Vince, Moeen Ali and Rilee Rossouw might just give Multan the edge they need today against Peshawar.
Match between Multan Sultan and Peshawar Zalmi to begins at 7pm.
Multan Sultans: Shan Masood (captain), Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Irfan, James Vince, Junaid Khan, Moeen Ali, Rilee Rossouw, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ravi Bopara, Sohail Tanvir, Ali Shafiq, Khushdil Shah, Usman Qadir, Fabian Allen, Mohammad Ilyas, Rohail Nazir, Imran Tahir, Bilawal Bhatti, Wayne Madsen
Peshawar Zalmi: Darren Sammy (captain), Hasan Ali, Kieron Pollard, Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal, Imam-ul-Haq, Umar Amin, Tom Banton, Shoaib Malik, Liam Dawson, Mohammad Mohsin, Rahat Ali, Lewis Gregory, Adil Amin, Amir Khan, Aamir Ali, Liam Livingstone, Haider Ali, Carlos Brathwaite