The caravan of the 7th season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) rolls on, with Lahore Qalandars set to lock horns with Babar Azam's Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday evening (February 18).
Having registered five wins in seven games, the Qalandars have solidified their position at the second spot and the Shaheen Shah Afridi-led unit will look to string another victory when they take on a beleaguered Karachi unit.
They will come into this game on the back of a commanding 8-wicket win over Quetta Gladiators. The victory was set up by their star-studded bowling attack, with Shaheen Afridi and David Wiese claiming two wickets each and Rashid Khan bowling a miserly spell of 1/13 in four overs.
With the kind of form, Fakhar Zaman is in, the target of 142 was never going to bother Lahore and it didn't. The southpaw smashed yet another half-century (52 off 43 deliveries) to set up the chase before Khurram Ghulam sealed the deal with an unbeaten 39-ball 55.
Karachi Kings, on the other hand, will once again be searching for an elusive win when they take the field on Friday evening.
Having lost eight in eight, to say that the Babar Azam-led unit have endured a disastrous campaign, will be an understatement. It has been a collective failure for Karachi with both batting and bowling departments failing badly. Babar's approach at the top of the order hasn't helped their cause either.
They came agonizingly close to claiming their maiden win of the season in the last fixture against Islamabad, falling 1 run short in a 192 run-case.
The last time these two sides locked horns, Lahore defeated Karachi by six wickets thanks to a blistering 60-ball 106 by Zaman.
Match Details - Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings, PSL 2022
Date: 18th February 2022
Time: 08:00 PM IST
Venue: Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
Broadcast: Sony Six, Sony Six HD, SonyLiV app and website
Pitch Report:
The average 1st innings score in the last 8 completed night games at the Gaddafi Stadium is 182, with chasing teams winning just three of them.
Squads:
Lahore Qalandars:
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Mohammad Hafeez, Abdullah Shafique, Rashid Khan, David Wiese, Haris Rauf, Sohail Akhtar, Zeeshan Ashraf, Ahmed Daniyal, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, Kamran Ghulam, Dean Foxcroft, Zaman Khan, Maaz Khan, Samit Patel, Syed Faridoun
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:
Lahore Qalandars:
Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hafeez, Phil Salt, Harry Brook, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi ©, Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan
Karachi Kings:
Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam (c), Joe Clarke (C), Mohammad Nabi, Sahibzada Farhan, Qasim Akram, Chris Jordan, Jordan Thompson, Imad Wasim, Umaid Asif, Mir Hamza
CE Fantasy XI:
Fakhar Zaman (c), Babar Azam, Joe Clarke (WK), Kamran Ghulam, Harry Brook, Mohammad Nabi, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, Haris Raif
Captain: Fakhar Zaman
Vice-captain: Babar Azam