PSL Match 25 QG vs MS: Preview

Multan Sultans will go face-to-face against the Quetta Gladiators in the 25th match of the Pakistan Super League 2022. The tournament is heading towards the business end and all the games now will be very crucial for the teams to qualify for the next round.

Multan has played like the Sultans this season. They are the best team of this season with 7 wins and only 1 loss in 8 matches. Multan are sitting pretty at the top of the points table and have already qualified for the play-offs. Their batters, especially the openers - Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood have been brilliant with the bat. They have been very consistent and have proved to be the main pillars of their batting. Rizwan has scored  fifties in 8 games while Masood has scored 3. Tim David and Khushdil Shah have been excellent as well in the back end of the innings. Both have played with a very high strike-rate and have taken their team over the line in few games.

Imran Tahir, Khushdil Shah, and Shahnawaz Dahani are their main bowlers and have done an outstanding job till now in the tournament. Tahir and Shah have 13 wickets each and both are at the second position in the most wickets list in PSL 2022. Multan’s batting and bowling units complement each other well and they will look to continue their winning momentum forward. 

Quetta Gladiators, meanwhile, are at the second last (5th) position with 3 wins and 5 losses in 8 matches. They won two games in a row but now have lost two in a row and are struggling really badly. They have to win the two remaining games, including this one to give themselves a chance to qualify for the play-offs. Will Smeed and Jason Roy have been the only batters who have shown some form in PSL 2022 from Quetta. Other’s need to step up and take responsibility in this do or die game. Their bowlers have average barring Naseem Shah who has a 5-wicket and a 4-wicket haul in PSL 2022. Quetta will need their batters and bowlers to be at their best and put in a team performance if they are to defeat the mighty Sultans.

Probable Playing XI

Quetta Gladiators: Jason Roy, Ahsan Ali, James Vince, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c & wk), Umar Akmal, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sohail Tanvir, Naseem Shah, Noor Ahmad, Ghulam Muddassar, Hassan Khan

Multan Sultan: Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Sohaib Maqsood, Rilee Rossouw, Tim David, Khushdil Shah, Abbas Afridi, Anwar Ali, Imran Tahir, Blessing Muzarabani

Pitch Report

It will be an excellent wicket for batting and batters will enjoy their time on the crease on this pitch. The pitch will be flat with a little assistance for the spinners. Scores in the range of 180-200 will be expected. There was dew in the second innings of the last match. Teams will look to chase. The average first innings score in PSL 2022 at this venue is 180 runs.

Head to Head

Overall: Both have won 4 games each
This Season: Multan won the first game by 6 runs
Last 5 matches: Multan leads 3-2

Match Ups

Quetta Gladiators
Vince vs Tahir: 29 runs off 27 balls with 2 dismissals
Umar Akmal vs Anwar Ali: 61 runs off 25 balls with 2 dismissals
Roy vs Anwar Ali: 33 runs off 19 balls with no dismissals
Iftikhar  vs Muzabarani: 8 runs off 7 balls with 1 dismissal

Multan Sultans
Rizwan vs Tanvir: 7 runs off 7 balls with 1 dismissal
Masood vs Nasim: 22 runs off 12 balls with no dismissals
T David vs Nasim: 18 runs off 9 balls with no dismissals
Masood vs Iftikhar: 42 runs off 22 balls with 1 dismissal

Key Players

Multan Sultans

● Shan Masood: Masood has been in excellent form and is the second highest wicket-taker with 396 runs at an average of 49.50. His strike-rate is 141.93. Masood is one of the main batters for Multan and good performance is expected from him in this game. 

● Mohammad Rizwan: Rizwan is amongst the best openers in the shortest format. He is the third-highest run-scorer of PSL 2022 with 345 runs at an average of 49.28. He has played the role of an anchor, holding one end and playing till the end. 

● Imran Tahir: Tahir has picked 13 wickets in the tournament and is the second highest wicket-taker. The leggie has been brilliant and has proved that age is just a number with his consistent performance in the tournament. 

● Khushdil Shah: Khushdil Shah has 13 wickets to his name as well and he has played some crucial cameos with the bat. He scored 21 off just 9 balls and took his team over the line.

Quetta Gladiators

● Jason Roy: Roy is one of the most destructive openers in white ball cricket and has a century and a fifty to his name in the 4 games that he has played. He is averaging 45.75 and his strike-rate is 192.63 for 183 runs that he has scored this season. 

● Will Smeed: The young English batter has proved to be an excellent opener for Quetta. He has scored 229 runs in 4 games at an average of 57.25 and striking at 141.35. He scored 99 in the last game and had scored 97 earlier in the tournament. 

● Naseem Shah: Naseem Shah has been brilliant with the ball. He has troubled the batters with his high pace and has bowled very smartly. He has 11 wickets including a 5-for and a 4-for. Shah will bowl with the new ball and in the death overs. The onus of picking wickets will be on his shoulders. 

Fantasy Tips 

Top Captain Vice-captain picks:

● Mohammad Rizwan
● Shan Masood
● Jason Roy
● Will Smeed
● Khushdil Shah

Dream11 Team