The league matches have ended, and four teams have qualified for the play offs. In this article we preview and predict the outcome of the Kings vs Zalmi Eliminator on June 21 in Abu Dhabi. The loser will be eliminated while the winner will play the loser of the Qualifier between United and Sultans.
Contents
Match Predictions and Team Previews
Analysis
The teams last met in a league match on 15 June in Abu Dhabi. Kings batted first and were soon in trouble after Wahab Riaz dismissed Babar Azam for a first-ball duck. Though Sharjeel Khan tried to keep the other end going, a regular fall of wickets saw Kings drawn into a mire from which they were never to recover. After Sharjeel was out in the 7th over for a painstaking 25 off 24 balls, with the scorecard reading 37 for 4, Kings had a brief respite with a 5th wicket stand of 30 runs. But once that partnership ended in the 14th over, the innings went downhill. Kings ended up on 108/9 in their allotted overs, Abbas Afridi top scoring with 27 off 18 balls. Abrar Ahmed was the pick of the Zalmi bowlers, returning figures of 3 for 14. Wahab Riaz also took 3 wickets while Sameen Gul took 2.
Zalmi did not have the ideal start to their reply, losing Kamran Akmal’s wicket with the score on 15 for 1. But an 84-run stand for the 2nd wicket between Hazratullah Zazai and Haider Ali rang the death-knell for Karachi Kings and, despite a fall of three wickets for one run, the modest target was never out of reach for Zalmi who win with 6 wickets and 9 overs to spare. Zazai top scored with 63 off 26 balls. Imad Wasim (2/2) was Kings’ most impressive bowler, while Aamer Yamin and Noor Ahmed took a wicket each.
Likely XIs
Karachi Kings: Wasim, Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Martin Guptill, Najibullah Zadran, Chadwick Walton, Danish Aziz, M Ilyas, Noor Ahmed, Mohammad Amir, Arshad Iqbal.
Peshawar Zalmi: Hazratullah Zazai, Kamran Akmal, Imam ul Haq, Shoaib Malik, Rovmann, Sherfane Rutherford, Wahab Riaz, Umaid Asif, Abrar Ahmed, Waqar Salamkheil, Sameen Gul.
Head-to-Headp>Kings enjoy a 3-2 advantage in the h2h comparison of their last three games against Zalmi.
