Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United, Pakistan Super League 2020, Today Match Prediction 14 Mar 2020

krk vs isu Match Prediction & Analysis

Host Karachi Kings will be keen to seal their place in the playoffs when they square off against Islamabad United in a crucial PSL game at National Stadium on Saturday. The game is of immense importance for both teams as a victory will increase their chances of qualifying for the knockout stages of the competition. Multan Sultans have already sealed their place in the playoffs, while the other three slots are yet to be decided.

In their previous fixture, Karachi Kings stormed to a dominant 10-wicket win over Lahore Qalandars. With this result, Karachi Kings climbed to second place in the league table with 9 points from eight games.

On the other hand, Islamabad United will need to play fearless cricket in order to upstage a confident unit like Karachi in their last round-robin game, Currently, United are in the fifth spot with 7 points in 9 matches played in the competition.

TEAMS PREVIEW

Karachi Kings Preview

If Karachi managed to win on Saturday, they will seal their playoff berth in the tournament. Imad Wasim will be hoping that the bowlers can maintain their disciplines in the remaining two round-robin matches.

The inclusion of Umaid Asif, Usama Mir, and Arshad Iqbal worked wonders as the Karachi bowlers managed to restrict Lahore Qalandars for a modest score. Medium-pacer Arshad Iqbal put in impressive bowling performance and finished with 2 for 15 in his three overs. Umaid Asif proved his critics wrong and bowled well at the death overs to finish with figures of 2 for 34 in his four overs.

Chasing 151 runs for victory, Karachi openers Sharjeel Khan and Babar Azam got the side off to a flying start. The opening pair put in a splendid performance and put on a mammoth 151-run partnership to see Karachi canter to a comfortable victory.

The big positive from the previous was Sharjeel Khan was finding form with the bat. Left-hander was the standout performer with the bat and smashed unbeaten 74 runs off 59 balls with the help of five fours and five sixes. He was well supported by Babar Azam, who notched up his third half-century in the competition. Azam scored 69 runs off 46 balls with the help of eight fours and one six.

Karachi Kings Predicted Playing XI:

Imad Wasim (captain), Chris Jordan, Usama Mir, Arshad Iqbal, Mohammad Amir ,Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam, Alex Hales, Iftikhar Ahmed, Umaid Asif, Chadwick Walton (wk)

Karachi Kings Actual Playing XI:

Chris Jordan, Usama Mir, Arshad Iqbal, Chadwick Walton, Babar Azam, SI Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Sharjeel Khan, Cameron Delport, Iftikhar Ahmed, Umaid Asif

Islamabad United Preview

Islamabad United have won only three games out of nine matches played so far this season. Shadab Khan and co. have performed well in patches and need to get their act together against Karachi’s star-studded batting lineup.

United has been well-served by opening pair of Luke Ronchi (266 runs from 8 matches) and Colin Munro (248 runs from 8 matches) at the top. In hard-hitting Shadab Khan, who has accumulated 251 runs from eight matches and Colin Ingram, who has scored 192 runs from 8 matches. The likes of Shadab Khan and Colin Ingram, who have shown the ability to take the opposition bowling attack to the cleaners in the later stages of the innings.

Dale Steyn has not been able to make an impact with the new-ball. Former South African pacer will be looking to make a strong comeback in this contest. Spinners like Shadab Khan and Zafar Gohar will need to put the bowl in the right areas to keep the opposition batsmen in check in the middle phase of the innings. Akif Javed and Rumman Raees have done a reasonable job for the side in the last couple of matches.

Islamabad United Predicted Playing XI:

Shadab Khan (captain), Muhammad Musa, Rizwan Hussain, Akif Javed, Dale Steyn, Luke Ronchi (wk), Colin Ingram, Colin Munro, Asif Ali, Amad Butt, Rumman Raees

Islamabad United Actual Playing XI:

Zafar Gohar, Musa Khan, Colin Ingram, Hussain Talat, Akif Javed, Rumman Raees, Asif Ali, Rizwan Hussain, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Philip Salt

PITCH AND WEATHER CONDITIONS

Weather Conditions

As witnessed in the previous game played at National Stadium, the surface might be a little two-paced in the first half of the innings. The weather forecast for the game is expected to be bright and sunny

Venue Details

National Cricket Stadium is going to host the 27th match of 2020 Pakistan Super League between Karachi Kings and Islamabad United. In terms of head-to-head record, Islamabad United have won eight matches out of 13 played against Karachi Kings in PSL.

Toss: To Bowl

Given the sluggish nature of the pitch, the side that wins the toss would be keen to bowl first and restrict the opposition to the lowest possible total.