PSL Match 26: LQ vs KK Preview

Lahore Qalandars are having an excellent campaign in PSL 2022. They are in 2nd position with 5 wins and 2 defeats after 7 matches. Lahore have been in stellar form and have done an excellent job with both bat and ball. Fakhar Zaman, Abullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, etc have been very consistent with the bat.

It's their bowling attack which is the main reason for their excellent performance. The trio of Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi, and Haris Rauf assisted by Zamaan Khan and David Wiese is the best bowling unit of this league. Lahore has won 4 out of their last 5 games and will look to win this match and confirm their play-offs spot.

Karachi Kings, on the contrary, are having a horrible season. They haven't won even one match in the tournament after playing 8 of them. They have lost 8 matches and are at the bottom of the points table. They have the likes of Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Imad Wasim, etc in their squad but they've failed miserably. Babar too has failed to bat at a high strike rate which has been the a main reason for Karachi's struggle. 

Apart from Babar and Sharjeel, no Karachi batter has scored even 150 runs. Imad Wasim and Qasim Akram have shown some good form in the last few games but that too didn't help them to register their first win of this season. Their bowlers have failed to put in a good performance in PSL 2022. Umaid Asif is their highest wicket-taker with 8 wickets. Karachi will look to play for their pride and win the remaining two matches.

Probable Playing XI

Lahore Qalandars:  Abdullah Shafique, Fakhar Zaman, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hafeez, Phil Salt (wk), Harry Brook, David Wiese, Rashid Khan, Shaheen Afridi (c), Haris Rauf, Zaman Khan 

Karachi Kings: Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam (c), Joe Clarke (wk), Sahibzada Farhaan, Jordan Thompson, Mohammad Nabi, Qasim Akram, Imad Wasim, Chris Jordan, Umaid Asif, Mir Hamza

Pitch Report

The pitch will be an excellent one for batting. The batters will love playing on this wicket with the ball coming nicely onto the bat. Spinners will get some assistance. The short dimensions will make life tough for the bowlers. Teams will look to chase. The average first innings score here in this season has been 180.

Head to Head
Overall: Karachi leads 8-6 in HTHs
Last 5 games: Karachi leads 3-2
This Season: Lahore won by 6 wickets with 4 balls remaining

Match Ups

Karachi Kings
Babar vs Shaheen: 75 runs off 51 balls with 1 dismissal
Nabi vs H Rauf: 36 runs off 22 balls with 2 dismissals
Nabi vs Rashid: 67 runs off 42 balls with 2 dismissals
Babar vs Rashid: 54 runs off 41 balls with 4 dismissals
Babar vs Wiese: 80 runs off 56 balls with 1 dismissal

Lahore Qalandars
Fakhar vs Jordan: 25 runs off 17 balls with 1 dismissal
Salt vs Jordan: 18 runs off 9 balls with 1 dismissal
Hafeez vs Imad: 38 runs off 42 balls with 2 dismissals
Fakhar vs Imad: 74 runs off 48 balls with 2 dismissals

Key Players

Lahore Qalandars

● Fakhar Zaman: Zaman has been in the form of his life and is the highest run scorer of this season. Zaman has scored 469 runs at an average of 67. His strike rate has been 165.14. Fakhar has scored 5 fifties in 7 matches of PSl 2022. 

● Kamran Ghulam: Kamran Ghulam has performed consistently in the last few games. He scored 55 in the last match. Ghulam will contribute with the ball as well. 

● Shaheen Afridi: Shaheen Afridi has been in excellent form with the ball. He has picked wickets with the new ball and in the death overs. Shaheen has 11 wickets to his name. 

● Haris Rauf: Haris has been Lahore's go-to bowler in the death overs. He has bowled with high pace and has picked 10 wickets in this season. 

Karachi Kings

● Babar Azam: Babar has scored 268 runs at an average of 38.28 at a strike-rate of just 120.17. Babar will look to up his strike-rate in the remaining two games.

● Imad Wasim: Imad has been in good touch in the last two games. He scored 55 in the second last game and a quick fire 32 in the last game. He will bowl 4 overs as well.

● Sharjeel Khan:  Sharjeel has scored 213 runs at an average of 26.62 at a strike-rate of 128.31 which is very unlike him. He will look to do well in the remaining matches.

Fantasy Tips

Top captain and vice-captain:

● Fakhar Zaman
● Babar Azam
● Shaheen Afridi
● Haris Rauf
● Rashid Khan

Dream11 Team