Islamabad United, champions of the inaugural edition in 2016, take on holders Peshawar Zalmi in the fourth match of Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2018 at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, February 24.
Zalmi are heading into the match on the back of a seven-wicket defeat in the tournament opener against new franchise Multan Sultans. Mohammad Hafeez's 52-ball 59 and captain Darren Sammy's quickfire 29 helped them post 151, which eventually was not enough.
Zalmi have good depth in their batting unit but lack of superstar names in their bowling attack makes them vulnerable on good batting tracks in the tournament. The departure of all-rounder Shahid Afridi is affecting the team, which is also missing injured Shakib Al Hasan and Dwayne Bravo.
Sammy's side though should take confidence from the way 19-year-old Mohammad Asghar went about his four-over spell against the Sultans. The left-arm spinner picked up the crucial wicket of Shoaib Maqsood and conceded only 19 runs.
Zalmi would want to get back to winning ways, but they have to be on their top to test the star-studded United line-up, who will be playing their first match of the season on Saturday.
Live streaming and TV coverage
- Worldwide live stream: cricketgateway.com
- India: TV: DSport; Live stream: DSport on Jio TV, Airtel TV; cricketgateway.com
- Pakistan: PTV Sports
- UK: Sky Sports Channel 792 (Prime TV)
- US: Willow TV
Led by Misbah-ul-Haq, United have a strong batting unit, which has the likes of English duo Alex Hales and Sam Billings, New Zealand stumper Luke Ronchi and West Indies all-rounder Andre Russell.
South Africa's T20I captain JP Duminy is expected to join the team after his the end of the ongoing three-match series against India.
Meanwhile, their bowling unit is also filled with the likes of Steven Finn, Shadab Khan, Samuel Badree and Rumman Raees.
United, who are strong contenders for the title, would want to lay down an early marker and a win against the defending champions is the best possible way to do so.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The fourth match of PSL 2018 between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi will start at 3:30 pm Dubai time, 5 pm IST, 11:30 am GMT.
Squads
Islamabad United: Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Alex Hales, Sam Billings (wk), Mohammad Hasan, Chadwick Walton, Rohail Nazir, Luke Ronchi (wk), Amad Butt, Jean-Paul Duminy, Hussain Talat, Samit Patel, Andre Russell, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Samuel Badree, Steven Finn, Mohammad Sami, Rumman Raees, Zafar Gohar
Peshawar Zalmi: Darren Sammy (c), Tamim Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Andre Fletcher, Riki Wessels, Hammad Azam, Haris Sohail, Dwayne Bravo, Khushdil Shah, Umaid Asif, Saad Nasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Sabbir Rahman, Liam Dawson, Sameen Gul, Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Asghar, Wahab Riaz.
