PSL Match 16: PZ vs MS Preview

This will be the 16th game of PSL 2022 where Multan Sultans will take on the Peshawar Zalmi at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.

Multan Sultans are on a roll with 5 consecutive wins. They are the best team of PSL 2022 at the moment. Multan defeated Peshawar in their last match by 57 runs and will be eyeing a double on the Zalmi. Their batting is their main strength. The likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Tim David, Rilee Rossouw, Khushdil Shah and Sohaib Maqsood form a very strong batting core. David Willey can hit the ball long as well. 

Their batters have been in red hot form as well and have been complemented very well by the bowling unit. Shahnawaz Dahani, Khushdil Shah, Imran Tahir, David Willey, Blessing Muzarabani, etc have performed really well and the combined performances of batting and bowling units is the main reason for their winning streak, which they will look to continue in this match as well. 

It has been an up and down ride for the Peshawar Zalmi after the first 5 games. They have won 2 matches and lost 3. They are at the 5th position and now it’s for them to put in some good performances to proceed to the play-offs. Unlike Multan, their batters and bowlers have failed to click simultaneously and when they have, Zalmi have been victorious. 

Inconsistency is their main issue alongside the ineffectiveness of their bowling attack. Wahab Riaz has been miserable with the ball while they don't have any other enforcer kind of bowlers in their line-up. Saqib Mahmood was average in his first game but they’ll expect him to come good. Salman Irshad and Mohammad Umar are inexperienced. Liam Livingstone being unavailable has been a big blow to them. They’ll look to give in a good performance and win this game.

Probable Playing XI

Peshawar Zalmi: Kamran Akmal(wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Haider Ali, Ben Cutting/Liam Livingstone, Hussain Talat, Shoaib Malik, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz (c), Usman Qadir, Salman Irshad, Mohammad Umar

Multan Sultans: Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Khushdil Shah, Tim David, David Willey, Imran Khan, Imran Tahir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Abbas Afridi

Pitch Report

The caravan has moved to Lahore after the first 15 games at Karachi. The pitch at Lahore is expected to be batting friendly as well. It’s expected to be a flat one where the batters can play their shots freely. Last 8 out of 9 games have been won by the teams who batted first but that was at a different venue. Teams are expected to chase as this will be the first game at Lahore.

Head to Head
Overall: Multan leads 7-3
Batting 1st: Multan leads 4-0
Last 5 matches: Multan leads 4-1
 

Match Ups

Multan Sultans
Maqsood vs Wahab: 67 runs off 39 balls with no dismissals
Charles vs Wahab: 85 runs at SR 155 with 2 dismissals

Peshawar Zalmi
Malik vs Tahir: 60 off 39 balls with 3 dismissals
Rutherford vs Wahab: 20 off 29 balls with 4 dismissals
Kamran vs Dahani: 6 runs off 15 balls with 1 dismissal
Cutting vs Dahani: 23 runs off 7 balls with no dismissals
Malik vs Anwar: 35 runs off 25 balls with no dismissals

Key Players

Peshawar Zalmi

●    Shoaib Malik: Malik has been the best batter for Peshawar in PSL 2022. He has used his experience well and have won them two games in the tournament. The onus will be on his shoulders to score some runs in the middle-order. 

●    Hazratullah Zazai: Zazai has shown signs of consistency. His last two scores read, 43 and 41 runs respectively. Zalmi will need him to play a few big knocks to propel them to the play-offs.

●    Haider Ali: Haider Ali has a lot of potential and has played a couple of good knocks as well but he is batting too low for Peshawar and can do well if he get the chance to bat at 3, his usual position. 

Multan Sultans

●    Shan Masood: Masood has been in excellent form and is the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament with 275 runs at an average of 55 and striking at 151.09. 

●    Mohammad Rizwan: Rizwan scored a brilliant 82 in the last game after failing for a couple of matches. He led his team from the front and helped them post a big total. Rizwan’s consistency is his main strength and the Sultans will expect him to do well in the upcoming games as well. 

●    Tim David: Tim David is just tearing apart bowling attacks in PSL 2022. He has scored 163 runs in 5 matches at an average of 81.50 and a whopping strike-rate of 211.68. He has hit 15 sixes and so far and has two 50+ scores to his name.

Fantasy Prediction 

Top Captain and Vice-Captain picks:

●    Shan Masood
●    Mohammad RIzwan
●    Khushdil Shah
●    Sherfane Rutherford
●    Hazratullah Zazai

Dream11

Disclaimer:  These teams are based on the writer's understanding of the game and do not guarantee to win in fantasy cricket. Users are advised to create their own teams with the information provided.