National T20 Cup 2021: Match 18, Southern Punjab vs Central Punjab - Preview, predicted XIs, pitch report, weather forecast, match prediction and live streaming details

Southern Punjab will face Central Punjab in the 18th match of the National T20 Cup. Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi will host this exciting clash.

Southern Punjab is well and truly struggling in the competition. They have failed to win a single game and are reeling at the bottom of the table. The bowlers have failed miserably as they have been unable to defend the big totals set by their batters. They will be in search of their first win.

In their last game against Balochistan, the batters did a good job of posting 174 runs on the board. But the bowlers could not back it up and delivered a disappointing performance. The Balochistan side chased down the total with eight wickets in hand in the 19th over. Nothing has gone right for the Southern Punjab side and they will be looking to change their fortunes in their next fixture.

Central Punjab has won three games and lost two so far. Their batters have done a good job but the bowlers have let the team down with their performances. They won their last game against table-toppers Sindh and will be riding high on confidence.

Batting first, Central Punjab scored 168 runs, losing eight wickets. Experienced Shoaib Malik played a fantastic knock of 85 as he remained unbeaten to post a competitive total. The bowlers were good as they kept a lid on the scoring rate. Sindh were 110/6 in 14.4 overs until the rain arrived. No further play was possible as Sindh fell short by 12 runs with the D/L method.

Match Details

Match: Southern Punjab vs Central Punjab, Match No.18, National T20 Cup 2021

Date and Time: October 3rd 2021, Sunday, 08:00 PM IST

Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Weather Report

Clear skies will greet both sides on Sunday. Temperatures are expected to hover between 22 and 31 degrees Celsius.

Pitch Report

The pitch at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is very good for batting. The batters enjoy batting on this surface as the ball comes nicely onto the bat.

Predicted Playing XIs

Central Punjab

Babar Azam’s men are coming off a win in their last game. The batters have contributed and the bowlers are doing a fine job of restricting the opposition to low totals. Expect them to continue with the winning combination for their upcoming clash against Southern Punjab.

Predicted XI: Ahmed Shehzad, Babar Azam (c), Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Shoaib Malik, Qasim Akram, Hussain Talat, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Ehsan Adil, Usman Qadir, Sameen Gul

Southern Punjab

Nothing has gone right for the Southern Punjab side. They are languishing at the bottom of the table and need something dramatic to qualify for the semifinals. The bowlers need to better their lines and lengths in their next outing.

Predicted XI: Zeeshan Ashraf, Sohaib Maqsood, Agha Salman, Mohammad Imran, Hassan Khan, Khushdil Shah, Azam Khan (wk), Aamer Yamin (c), Umer Khan, Dilbar Hussain, Naseem Shah.

Match Prediction

Central Punjab's side have played well in phases but need to be consistent. Babar Azam is leading the side by example. It’s a different story for Southern Punjab. They are at the bottom of the table and have failed to win a single game. They need to play out of their skin to challenge Babar’s men.

Central Punjab looks strong on paper and expect them to edge past Southern Punjab unscathed.