An array of PSL stars including Shahid Afridi, Shane Watson, Shaun Tait and Andre Russell will be on show as Peshawar Zalmi are set to battle it out against Islamabad United in Sharjah, Friday. With both teams having done fairly well so far in the PSL, the match promises to be humdinger of a contest.
Peshawar, who have lost just one game in the competition against the table toppers Quetta Gladiators, have played some stupendous cricket in the competition, winning three games so far. They will be eager to defeat Islamabad for the second time in the PSL after winning their first head-to-head encounter in Dubai by 23 runs.
When these two teams met last, the Peshawar bowlers including Tait, Wahab Riaz and Mohammad Asghar were on fire, picking up two, three and three wickets respectively. Peshawar have the best bowling line up in the competition with Riaz and Asghar having taken nine and eight wickets respectively in the PSL.
Their batting looks comparatively weak, and they are dependent on Tamim Iqbal and Mohammad Hafeez who have been decent.
The same cannot be said for Islamabad as they possess an incredible foreign batting unit, which includes Shane Watson, Sam Billings, Andre Russell and Brad Haddin. They should be an even more confident unit with Watson scoring 119 runs in his last two innings.
Islamabad need Watson to fire at the top of the batting order with Peshawar bowlers in fine form. Cricket viewers should be in for a huge treat if Watson comes up with his A game against Tait and Riaz, who bring back memories from the 2011 World Cup semifinal where the Pakistan pacer troubled the Australian batsman with a fiery spell.
However, Islamabad cannot rely too much on Watson alone and all their players need to stand up including their bowlers, Mohammad Irfan and Saeed Ajmal.
This match is of huge importance to both teams if one looks at the standings in the PSL. Peshawar, with a victory against Islamabad, can tie on points with Quetta for first place. If they lose on Friday, Islamabad will catch up on Peshawar with same points.
Teams: Peshawar Zalmi:Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Darren Sammy, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Chris Jordan, Tamim Iqbal, Junaid Khan, James Allenby, Shaun Tait, Aamer Yamin, Dawid Malan, Imran Khan (jnr), Shahid Yousuf, Abdur Rehman, Musadiq Ahmed Ali, HasanAli, Mohammad Asghar, Brad Hodge, Israrullah, Taj Wali.
Islamabad United: Shane Watson, Mohammad Irfan, Brad Haddin, Sharjeel Khan, Imran Khalid, Kamran Ghulam, Umar Amin, Sam Billings Mohammad Sami, Khalid Latif, Babar Azam, Andre Russell, Misbah-ul-Haq, Samuel Badree, , Rumman Raees, Amad Butt, Saeed Ajmal, Hussain Talat Ashar Zaidi, Umar Siddiq.
Where to watch live
Game 13 of the Pakistan Super League – Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United-- is scheduled for 8pm local time (9:30 p.m. IST, 9 p.m. PKT, 4 p.m. GMT) start. Unfortunately there is no live TV coverage in India.
Viewers in Pakistan can watch the -- Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United live on PTV Sports, Ten Sports and Geo Super with the live streaming online option on PTV Sports Live.
OSN will broadcast the Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United live in UAE,with the match can be live streamed on OSN Play.
UK viewers can watch the Peshawar Zalmi vs Islamabad United live live on Prime TV with live streaming on Prime TV Online.
