ISLAMABAD: A formidable Multan Sultans side will take on the impressive Peshawar Zalmi today, Thursday, at the National Bank Arena in Karachi in Qualifier 1 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024 tournament.
The winner of Qualifier 1 will book a spot in the PSL 2024 final. The Sultans and Zalmi are the top two sides of the tournament, with the former grabbing 14 points from 10 matches while the latter has 13 points from 10 matches.
“It’s the Sultans vs Zalmi, who will make it to the final?” PSL’s official account posted on X.
Zalmi head into the match after grabbing a last-ball victory over Karachi Kings on Monday, when they edged out Shan Masood’s squad by two runs. In skipper Babar Azam and left-handed batter Saim Ayub, Zalmi have a strong batting lineup while Rovman Powell in the middle order is also a valuable asset for the squad.
The “Yellow Storm” also have an impressive bowling attack in the form of Luke Wood, Naveen ul Haq and new find Mehran Mumtaz. All-rounder Aamer Jamal and Ayub have proven to be useful with the ball as well in recent matches.
Skipper Muhammad Rizwan’s Sultans have been the best squad of this year’s PSL. The team’s Usman Khan became the only batter in PSL history to smash two centuries in the tournament, achieving the feat in this year’s competition.
Coupled with the likes of Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed and Tayyab Tahir, the Sultans can give a tough time to any PSL franchise.
However, Zalmi will be wary of the Sultans’ bowling attack, which comprises the likes of Usama Mir, David Willey, Abbas Afridi and Mohammad Ali.
The Sultans will head into the match more confident than Zalmi, beating Quetta Gladiators by 79 runs on Tuesday in what was a one-sided affair.
The match begins at 9:00 p.m. Pakistan Standard Time.
Playing XI: (probable):
Multan Sultans: Yasir Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Usman Khan, Johnson Charles, Iftikhar Ahmed, Tayyab Tahir, Chris Jordan, David Willey, Usama Mir, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Ali
Peshawar Zalmi: Saim Ayub, Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Haris (wk), Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Haseebullah Khan, Rovman Powell, Aamer Jamal, Luke Wood, Khurram Shahzad, Mehran Mumtaz, Salman Irshad
