PSL 2019: Pressure of play-off and home ground on Karachi Kings v Quetta Gladiators

Waseem Ahmed 18:02 09/03/2019
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  • Karachi batsmen Liam Livingstone (l) and Colin Ingram. Image: Karachi Kings/Twitter.

    The Pakistan leg of PSL 2019 is under way and it is the turn of Karachi Kings to stake their claim for a spot in the PSL playoffs.

    Their clash against Quetta Gladiators on Sunday will have added pressure as they will not only be playing at the home venue – the National Stadium – but will also have to beat the table toppers to keep their hopes alive. Karachi have four wins and as many defeats, which means the Kings can’t afford any slip ups in its last two games.

    Quetta have emerged as the runaway leaders of PSL 2019 but momentum can shift easily in the business end of the tournament, especially because of a change in location.

    Quetta will expect Shane Watson’s bat to do the bulk of the work. However, wickets in this time of the year in Pakistan are generally full of runs in white-ball cricket and others like Ahmed Shehzad and Umar Akmal will aim to to fill their boots.

    The bowling burden will fall on the shoulders of left-arm seamer Sohail Tanvir and left-amr spinner Mohammad Nawaz, with all-rounder Dwayne Bravo providing support.

    Karachi, however, have a lot of heavy hitters in their side. Liam Livingstone is their main hope in the batting department, being the surprise third highest run-scorer this season. However, their bowling needs some more bite. Teen spinner Umer Khan is eighth in the table among wicket takers while Mohammad Amir is 10th – with an economy of more than seven – while many above the two are in the low 6s.

    Batsman Babar Azam will be hoping to make a mark in front of his home crowd after having a rather subdued PSL. With him being rested for the Australia ODI series, Babar would like to get some runs under his belt.

    TEAM NEWS

    Both teams won their previous games comfortably so should go in with the same team, unless Quetta look to rest some layers as they have already qualified.

    Karachi Kings: Babar Azam, Colin Munro, Liam Livingstone, Colin Ingram, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Rizwan, Imad Wasim (c), Aamer Yamin, Usman Shinwari, Umer Khan, Aaron Summers

    Quetta Gladiators: Shane Watson, Ahmed Shehzad, Azam Khan, Rilee Rossouw, Umar Akmal, Dwayne Bravo, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Tanvir, Fawad Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain

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