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Kings vs Qalandars: Preview and predicted lineups for HBL PSL 6 clash

Both teams will be relying on their top-order batsmen to score the bulk of the runs

Kings vs Qalandars: Preview and predicted lineups for HBL PSL 6 clash PHOTO COURTESY: PCB

Defending champions Karachi Kings will take on last year’s finalists Lahore Qalandars during the ongoing HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the National Stadium in Karachi.

Karachi and Lahore are currently placed at second and third position, respectively, on the points table after two wins from three games.

Karachi won their last match in the event, against Multan Sultans yesterday, while Lahore lost their encounter against the same side on Friday.

Both teams will be relying on their top-order batsmen to score the bulk of the runs with Karachi’s Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam and Joe Clarke and Lahore’s Mohammad Hafeez and Fakhar Zaman all in good form.  

On the bowling front, Lahore will be banking on pacers Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf to dismantle Karachi’s batting. On the other hand, Karachi will be hoping that the experience of pacer Mohammad Amir and talented Arshad Iqbal can come good with the ball once again.

Head to head

Both teams have faced each other 11 times over the course of the past five season with Kings having the upper hand with seven wins. The Qalandars have registered four wins with one of those being a super over victory during the third edition of the league in Dubai.  

Key quotes

Mohammad Hafeez: “Every team has come into the tournament with good preparation. We have seen so far that every team has match winners and have a good combination. Whenever we come up against a team, we plan accordingly in our meetings and then try to win the match. Obviously, we will have a good match on Sunday and we will try to ensure that we make less mistakes and improve our execution.”

Babar Azam: “Every match you have to improve, as nobody is perfect. I always try to learn from my previous innings, what I should have done better and try to remove any mistakes I have made.”

Predicted lineups

Karachi: Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Joe Clarke (wk), Colin Ingram, Mohammad Nabi, Dan Christian, Imad Wasim (c), Amir Yamin, Waqas Maqsood, Mohammad Amir, Arshad Iqbal.

Lahore: Sohail Akhtar (c), Fakhar Zaman, Joe Denly, Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), Samit Patel, David Wiese, Ahmed Daniyal, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Salman Mirza.