Coming Sunday is going to be a doubleheader day in the Pakistan Super League. In the first fixture, Islamabad United is going to host Multan Sultans at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. In the previous meeting between the two teams, Multan Sultans came out as the winners.
Islamabad United is currently in the 4th spot in the point table with 3 wins and a net run rate of +0.163. They need a win to make sure the team reaches the qualifier round.
Multan Sultans have dominated the point table since the start of the league. They are the table toppers with 6 wins and a net run rate of +0.967.
Usama Mir is the leading wicket-taker in the league with 18 wickets in 8 matches at an economy of 7.47.
The betting tip is...
Usama Mir will pick the first wicket for Multan Sultans.
The recent losses against Lahore Qalandars will affect the team chemistry of Islamabad United. The team was already struggling to be consistent but facing a loss against the weakest team in the league will affect their overall confidence.
Runs will be expected from the bat of Agha Salman. He is the leading scorer for Islamabad with 229 runs in 7 matches at an average of 45.80. Colin Munro has struggled in the league this year. He has scored 216 runs in 7 matches at an average of 30.86.
Skipper Shadab Khan has turned out to be the leading wicket-taker for the team. He has 10 wickets in 7 matches at an economy of 7.42. Naseem Shah will be expected to pick early wickets with the new ball. He has scalped 9 wickets in 7 matches at an economy of 7.64 as of now.
Agha Salman, Shadab Khan, and Naseem Shah are the key players in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Colin Munro, Alex Hales, Agha Salman, Shadab Khan (c), Jordan Cox, Imad Wasim, Azam Khan (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Naseem Shah, Tymal Mills, Runman Raees
Multan Sultans witnessed a shocking loss in their previous fixture against Peshawar Zalmi. It was a high-scoring fixture where the Sultans failed to complete the chase.
The match started with the bowling unit receiving a major beating from the Zalmi batters. Usama Mir picked up 3 wickets at an economy of 8 and Chris Jordan scalped a duo at an economy of 8.25 in 4 overs.
When it came to the batting lineup, Mohammad Rizwan provided a good start by scoring 32 off 24 at a strike rate of 133.33. Reeza Hendricks (5 off 10), Dawid Malan (19 off 19), and Tayyab Tahir (26 off 18) failed to make an impact. It was Iftikhar Ahmed who was on fire in the middle order and scored 60 off 27 at a strike rate of 222.22 but unfortunately, he failed to help the team to score a win on his own.
Iftikhar Ahmed, Usama Mir, and Mohammad Ali are the key players in the team.
Predicted Lineup: Reeza Hendricks, Khushdil Shah, Dawid Malan, Tayyab Tahir, Iftikhar Ahmed, David Willey, Mohammad Rizwan, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Ali, Usama Mir, Aftab Ibrahim
Islamabad United are struggling when it comes to their batting lineup. The batters have failed to build a strong partnership and score a big number.
Multan Sultans faced loss in their previous fixture but they are not a weak team. They have a good depth in their batting lineup with bowlers turning out to be the leading wicket-takers. We predict a win for Multan Sultans on Sunday.