Multan Sultans will be up against Peshawar Zalmi in the fifth match of the 2023 Pakistan Super League season. The match will take place at Mutan’s Multan Cricket Stadium on Friday.
For Multan Sultans, getting two consecutive wins after the defeat in the season opener would be crucial at the start of the season. They lost their first match against Lahore Qalandars by 1 run followed by a nine-wicket win against Quetta Gladiators.
On the other hand, Peshawar Zalmi had the perfect start to their season. The champions of the 2017 season faced Karachi Kings at their home in the National Stadium but still managed to walk away with a 2-run win.
What Have They Done So Far?
Up against Shaheen Afridi’s Lahore Qalandars in the first match, Multan Sultans bowled first and had a poor start, as the bowlers faced the wrath of Fakhar Zaman. However, good spells from Ihsanullah and Usama Mir helped them restrict the Qalandars to 175/6.
Like their opponents, Multan also had a good start with the bat as skipper Mohammad Rizwan played a brilliant knock of 75 runs. However, his dismissal caused the team to crumble as none of the other batters could live up to the occasion. Ultimately, the Sultans ended up losing the match by 1 run.
The story was very different in the second fixture as the Sultans bowled out the Gladiators for 110 runs with Ihsanullah getting a five-wicket haul while Rilee Roussouw’s innings of 72 runs off 48 balls helped Multan win by 9 wickets.
On the other hand, Peshawar Zalmi batted first in their first game against Karachi Kings and had a poor start, as they lost two wickets in the first two overs. But thanks to English batter Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s sensational knock of 92 runs from only 50 balls, they managed to put up a big total of 199 runs.
In response, they had a great start as the Kings lost four wickets inside seven overs. But Shoaib Malik and Imad Wasim both played superb knocks and scored half-centuries, helping the 2020 champions to get back in the game. However, it did not matter much as Peshawar managed to win the game by just 2 runs.
Head to Head Record
The head-to-head records are completely inclined in favour of Multan Sultans. Rizwan’s team defeated Zalmi in eight of the previous 11 meetings, while the four-time finalists have been successful in beating the 2021 champions only once.
The last meeting, which took place in February last year, saw the Sultans securing a 42-run win. Shan Masood’s half-century helped them put up a total of 182 runs, while in reply, Peshawar could only score 140 runs as Blessing Muzarabi and Khushdil Shah picked up three wickets each.
Key Players
Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans): Rizwan, who interestingly hails from Peshawar, could turn out to be his hometown’s nemesis on Friday. The wicket-keeper is among the most consistent batters in international cricket currently, while his performance in the first match further proved his worth.
Rizwan scored 75 runs from 50 deliveries against the Qalandars, which included 8 fours and a six. He has scored 6308 runs in his T20 career, with 54 half-centuries and a century to his name. Moreover, he was also among the runs for Comilla Victorians in the Bangladesh Premier League recently.
Babar Azam (Peshawar Zalmi): Two of the greatest Pakistani batters of this era will go head-to-head in this match, as Rizwan will be up against his opening partner from the national team – Babar Azam. The Pakistani skipper also had a good start to his campaign.
In the match against Karachi, Babar scored a 46-ball 68, which included 7 fours and a six. Moreover, he scored two half-centuries in last month’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand. The 28-year-old has 8617 T20 runs to his name.
Predicted Playing XIs
Multan Sultans: Shan Masood, Mohammad Rizwan ©, Usman Khan, Kieron Pollard, David Miller, Khushdil Shah, Akeal Hosein, Usama Mir, Sameen Gul, Anwar Ali, Ihsanullah.
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam ©, Mohammad Haris, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, James Neesham, Shakib Al Hasan, Wahab Riaz, Sufiyan Muqeem, Salman Irshad, Khurram Shahzad.
Prediction
Though Peshawar might have had a comparatively better start to their season, Multan did well to fight till the last ball in their first game. Head-to-head records are in their favour as well, while they will also be playing at their home stadium. Combining all these factors, we have predicted Multan Sultans to win this match.