Pakistan Super League 2020, Multan Sultans vs Peshawar Zalmi: Preview, predicted XIs, where and when to watch and live stream details

Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi will play each other for the first time this Pakistan Super League (PSL) in the eighth match of the tournament. It will also be the first time Multan gets to host a team on their home ground, as the match will be the first to be held in the Multan Cricket Stadium.

Both teams have played each other four times in the past with both sharing two wins over each other. This makes them evenly matched, and even though both teams have made significant changes to their squads for this year’s tournament, they have won one and lost one match so far.

The Sultans will once again rely on James Vince and Rilee Rossouw at the top to provide them with a good start in front of a home crowd so they can push for a big total. Shahid Afridi will have to play a veteran’s knock to lift up his side late in the match as there are no benchmark scores on this ground yet.

Bilawal Bhatti could make his way into the team in place of Muhammad Irfan who has largely been ineffective in the first two matches for the Sultans. Bhatti could provide the team with some extra pace and contribute some runs down the other.

However, Imran Tahir will once again be the pillar of the bowling department and we could watch him perform exceptionally well if the Sultans bowl first.

Peshawar Zalmi has been riding high on the back of Kamran Akmal’s brilliant form which he has carried into this season from the last one. He made a quickfire 43 while chasing Karachi Kings’ 201 but his team fell short in their first match. In the second match, he hit a century and carried his side to a comfortable win over Quetta Gladiators.

His team will be looking to him once again in this match as they will try to get the maximum out of Akmal at the top in order to set or chase down big scores. Shoaib Malik will need to step up soon or face the axe, while Liam Livingstone will also have to play a major role in the middle of the order.

While Zalmi’s bowling looks extremely strong on paper, especially due to some all-rounders in the team, they will need Hasan Ali and Rahat Ali to do much better to keep their team in the game and stop leaking too many runs.

Multan may seem like the favourites, especially since this will be their first match on home soil, it will be the Zalmi’s who will walk into this match as the favourites due to their experience and the form Kamran Akmal and Wahab Riaz are in.

We expect the side winning the toss to bowl first as the dew factor could make bowling a tad bit difficult later on.

Match details

Tournament: Pakistan Super League Season 5, 2020

Venue: Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan

Date: 26th February 2020

Time: 7.00 PM PST onwards

Pitch report

International cricketers will return to Multan for the first time since 2008, and it’s going to be a full-house on a weekday in the City of Saints! Multan Cricket Stadium recently got a makeover, and can now host up to 35,000 spectators, making it the biggest sports venue in Pakistan.

The weather is expected to remain pleasant, but the dew factor will play in late in the evening in this clash, making the ball more difficult to grip for the spinners. We’ll see bat and ball play an equal role in this match, and the team batting first could be at an advantage in this match.

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.

Peshawar Zalmi: Tom Banton, Kamran Akmal (Wicketkeeper), Haider Ali, Liam Livingstone, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Mohsin, Liam Dawson, Darren Sammy (Captain), Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali and Rahat Ali.