PSL 2022 | Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings vs | Match 21 Preview, Predictions, Fantasy XI

The 21st game of PSL 2022 will see hosts Islamabad United lock horns with the Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium on Monday evening (February 14).

With three wins and as many defeats after six outings, Islamabad have had a pretty middling campaign this year, falling to back up a good performance with another one.

With just four group-stage encounters remaining, Shadab Khan & co can't afford another slip and they will be looking to put their campaign back on track when they face a struggling Karachi Kings on Monday.

United will come into this game after having suffered a five-wicket defeat at the hands of Quetta Gladiators in a high-scoring affair. 

Batting first, blistering knocks from Alex Hales (62 off 38 deliveries) and Faheem Ashraf (55 off 28 deliveries) ensured that Islamabad posted 199/8 despite the failure of the middle-order.

However, their effort went in vain as Quetta made light work of the total thanks to half-centuries from Jason Roy (54 off 27 deliveries) and skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed (50* off 32 deliveries and a brilliant cameo from Umar Akmal, who smashed 23 runs off just 8 deliveries.

Shadab Khan (3/25 in 4 overs) waged a lone battle with the ball as the rest of the bowlers were hammered into submission.

They will now face Karachi Kings, who suffered their sixth consecutive defeat of the tournament on Sunday following yet another shambolic performance with the bat.

Skipper Babar (59 off 46 deliveries) helped himself to another half-century but it didn't help his side one bit. Babar's lack of intent was once again on full display and while it can be argued that the rest of the batsmen were guilty of the same, a batsman of his class should be able to adapt and accelerate as per the demands of the game, especially in a run chase.

Karachi's batting has been at the heart of their poor campaign but their bowling has been equally average.

It was on full display in the last game as the likes of Hazratullah Zazai, Mohammad Haris and co took their attack to the cleaners.

This will be the second meeting between these two sides. In their previous encounter, Islamabad thumped the Azam-led unit by 42 runs, with Shadab Khan (34 off 19 deliveries & 4/15) leading from the front.

On Monday, Islamabad will look to strengthen their chances of making it to the playoffs while Karachi will be desperate to claim their first win of the season.

Match Details - Islamabad United vs Karachi Kings, PSL 2022

Date: 14th February 2022

Time: 08:00 PM IST

Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Broadcast: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, SonyLiV app and website

Pitch Report

The surface at the Gaddafi Stadium has been pretty good so far as it has kept all the skill sets equally interested. The average 1st innings score in 4 completed night games at the Gaddafi Stadium is 176, with chasing teams winning two of them.

Squads:

Islamabad United:

Shadab Khan (c), Colin Munro, Asif Ali, Azam Khan (wk), Athar Mahmood, Marchant de Lange, Danish Aziz, Alex Hales, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Wasim, Mubasir Khan, Muhammad Akhlaq (wk), Muhammad Musa, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Paul Stirling, Zafar Gohar, Zahir Khan, Zeeshan Zameer

Karachi Kings:

Babar Azam (c), Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nabi, Joe Clarke, Sharjeel Khan, Aamer Yamin,, Chris Jordan, Lewis Gregory, Umaid Asif, Ian Cockbain, Rohail Nazir, Muhammad Imran, Faisal Akram, Qasim Akram, Talha Ahsan, Tom Lammonby

Probable Playing XI:

Islamabad United:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Alex Hales, Shadab Khan ©, Muhammad Akhlaq, Azam Khan (WK), Asif Ali, Liam Dawson, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Hasan Ali, Zeeshan Zameer

Karachi Kings:

Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam (c), Joe Clarke (C), Ian Cockbain, Mohammad Nabi, Sahibzada Farhan, Aamer Yamin, Chris Jordan, Qasim Akram, Imad Wasim, Umaid Asif

CE Fantasy XI:

Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Babar Azam, Alex Hales, Sharjeel Khan, Ahsan Ali, Shadab Khan ©, Aamer Yameen, Faheem Ashraf, Chris Jordan, Umaid Asif, 

Captain: Shadab Khan

Vice-captain: Alex Hales