Analysis for the match.

Islamabad United and Karachi Kings go head to head in Match 19 of the 2023 Pakistan Super League on Friday evening at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. United have won three of their first five games and are in third place. The Kings have won two from seven and are in fifth. Read on as we preview this match. The game gets underway in Rawalpindi at 19:00 local time.

Islamabad United were well beaten by Lahore Qalandars in their last match but have plenty of experience which should help them bounce back in this game. They have been far stronger than the Kings so far this season.

Karachi Kings have struggled for consistency in this year’s PSL although their results have picked up of late. They will need to be at their best if they are to trouble Islamabad United in this clash.

Must see point.

1). The Karachi Kings have a stronger batting line-up compared to Islamabad.

2). Islamabad United lacks depth in their batting.

3). The Karachi Kings have a well-rounded bowling attack.

Match Prediction: KRK to win the match.

1). If ISU won the toss and opted to bowl first, KRK could score 180-200 runs.

2). If KRK won the toss and opted to bowl first, ISU could score 170-190 runs.

Secondary Predictions.

1). Colin Munro total runs - over 21.5 runs.

Colin Munro has a strike-rate of 141.25 in T20 cricket and has already hit 12 sixes in this year’s competition. He is our pick for Islamabad United’s highest run scorer against Karachi Kings.

2). Matthew Wade total runs - Over 20.5 runs

Matthew Wade has scored over 200 runs in the competition so far and the Australian is well worth backing as Karachi Kings’ highest run scorer at the top of the order.

3). Mohammad Amir total wickets - Over 1.5 wickets.

Mohammad Amir took 4-26 in the last match and he is our tip for Karachi Kings’ top wicket taker in this game.We recommend backing Mohammad Amir to take over 1.5 wickets in this match.

Match Preview.

Islamabad United hasn’t been in the best of forms this season but has done enough to keep themselves in the top-4 in the points table. Despite losing their latest outing, Islamabad is 3rd on the points table, above Peshawar Zalmi, thanks to a better NRR.

The team will be pretty disappointed with their effort in their last match where they lost against the Lahore Qalandars by a huge margin of 110 runs. Bowling first, Islamabad conceded 200 runs thanks to a mediocre bowling effort. Abrar Ahmed and Zeeshan Zameer collectively leaked 80 runs in 6 overs to hand the opposition good momentum.

Tom Curran was the pick of the bowlers, picking up 3 wickets, while Shadab Khan chipped in with 2 wickets. Chasing a huge target, Colin Munro and Rahmanullah Gurbaz gave Islamabad a brisk start but once the openers departed, the batting collapsed as the entire team was bowled out for just 90 runs. The team will expect Azam Khan and Rassie van der Dussen to score some big runs here.

The batting of the all-rounders has been a big letdown as the likes of Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, and Tom Curran have failed to score runs in the middle order. Hasan Ali has been quite impactful in the 3 games that he has played and will be the key bowler for Islamabad in this match, while Faheem Ashraf and Curran will be supporting him from the other end. 

The Karachi Kings haven’t been in the best of forms this season as they have lost 5 of the 7 matches that they have played so far. As a result, they are 5th on the points table, trailing the 4th placed Peshawar by 2 points. Karachi has just 3 more matches to play in the group stage including this one and will need to try and win each of them to get easy access to the playoffs.

Despite a stellar bowling effort by Mohammad Amir in the last match, the Karachi Kings lost against Peshawar Zalmi in yet another high-scoring encounter. Despite the loss, the team will look at the positives as Mohammad Amir, who is their most experienced fast bowler, finally returned to form to bowl a brilliant spell of 4 for 26. Imad Wasim and Matthew Wade continued with their excellent form and went on to score their respective half-centuries.

James Vince, who was in good touch, has departed for international duties, while his replacement, Adam Rossington, didn’t have the best of outings. Shoaib Malik, who had a great start to the season has struggled in the last couple of matches and will be looking to play a big inning here.

The team will be banking on Aamer Yamin and Akif Javed to support Mohammad Amir from the other end, while Imad Wasim and Tabraiz Shamsi will lead the spin attack. 

Match details.

Time -  Mar 3rd, 07:30 pm, IST.

Venue - Pindi Club Ground - Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Pitch reports.

The pitch at Rawalpindi is excellent to bat on, thanks to the even and consistent bounce that it offers. There is hardly any assistance for the spin bowlers but the quicker bowlers will enjoy bowling here thanks to the pace of the wicket. The average first-inning score here is around 170, which is a par score.

The weather is expected to remain overcast with temperatures remaining below the 20-degree mark in the evening. 

Team News.

Islamabad United>>

There were two changes for Islamabad United in their bowling attack ahead of their 110 run defeat to Lahore Qalandars. Tom Curran and Zeesgan Zameer came into the side and we expect them to keep their places in the team for this fixture.Islamabad United have won three of their last five matches in the PSL 2023 but were well beaten in the last game.

Possible XI - Colin Munro, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Rassie van der Dussen, Shadab Khan (c), Azam Khan (wk), Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Tom Curran, Hasan Ali, Zeeshan Zameer, Abrar Ahmed

Karachi Kings>>

After the heavy win against Multan Sultans in Match 14, Karachi Kings made two changes for the game with Peshawar Zalmi. James Vince left the tournament to go and play for England in Bangladesh with Adam Rossington coming in. Mohammad Amir returned to the side in place of Muhammad Musa.Although Karachi Kings have won only two games in the tournament, both of those victories came in their last four matches.

Possible XI - Matthew Wade, Adam Rossington (wk), Tayyab Tahir, Shoaib Malik, Irfan Khan, Imad Wasim (c), Ben Cutting, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Akif Javed