Pakistan Super League 2020, Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings | Preview, predicted XIs, where and when to watch and live stream details

Multan Sultans will continue their search for their first PSL trophy as they take on a team that has been trying to win the trophy since 2016, Karachi Kings.

Karachi Kings have always made the play-offs but never moved further, and they will be looking to turn that around this year. They’re unbeaten against the Sultans in PSL, and that will work to their advantage as they try to rake up their points on the table.

Multan Sultans will look to win another match and increase their points in the tournament so that they end up in the top four once the playoffs begin. They had a low scoring encounter with Peshawar Zalmi on Wednesday where Shan Massod's decision to field first helped them win the match.

They will rely on international stars James Vince, Moeen Ali, and Rilee Rossouw to hold the batting together as they lack the local talent in the batting department. Shahid Afridi will be expected to come in late to give the team some fire at the bottom, with Bilawal Bhatti possibly making the cut based on some batting abilities.

Also see – IPL schedule

The burden of bowling will fall on Imran Tahir again who will look for assistance from Muhammad Ilyas at the top, followed by Moeen Ali later on. The variation that the Sultans possess is what makes them lethal in the bowling department and has helped them progress so far in the tournament.

The Kings lost their previous match to Quetta Gladiators after scoring just 156 in the first innings. Babar Azam, Cameron Delport, Alex Hales, and Iftikhar Ahmed all got starts but failed to convert those starts into formidable scores.

Karachi Kings will likely replace Sharjeel Khan at the top as he hasn’t had the starts they’d have liked him to have. Alex Hales could move up the order, opening up a slot for Muhammad Rizwan to return to the side.

Arshad Iqbal has leaked too many runs in the two matches he’s played, and he will likely be taken out in the team and be replaced by Umer Khan.

The team batting first will need to bat out of their skins as both teams are stacked with some good batsmen and all-rounders. The faceoff between Babar Azam and Imran Tahir is likely to be interesting and give fans something to cheer about.

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Match details

Tournament: Pakistan Super League Season 5, 2020

Venue: Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan

Date: 28th February 2020

Time: 3.00 PM PST onwards

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Pitch report

The pitch in Multan is likely to play out a bit differently in the day time as compared to the night time. We can expect it to be drier and the pitch to be harder, providing the faster bowlers with some more assistance. Leg spinners Imran Tahir and Shahid Afridi can also find some assistance from the pitch that will be very different from the one in Lahore.

The batsmen will likely enjoy the pitch as the ball will come onto the bat nicely which could give way to a big score for the side batting first. This will allow the fans to get the max out of the clash as both Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans are packed with some top quality international batsmen.

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Predicted XIs

Multan Sultans: Shan Masood (Captain), James Vince, Moeen Ali, Rilee Rossouw, Khushdil Shah, Zeeshan Ashraf (Wicketkeeper), Shahid Afridi, Sohail Tanvir, Muhammad Ilyas, Bilawal Bhatti, and Imran Tahir.

Karachi Kings: Babar Azam, Alex Hales, Cameron Delport, Chadwick Walton, Mohammad Rizwan (Wicketkeeper), Imad Wasim (Captain), Iftikhar Ahmed, Umaid Asif, Mohammad Amir, Chris Jordan, and Umer Khan.

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Where to watch the matches in Pakistan?

Multan Sultans v Karachi Kings will be telecast LIVE on PTV Sports.

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Live stream details

The live stream for Multan Sultans v Karachi Kings will be available on Cricingif and Cricketgateway.