Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators, PSL 2021: Match 1 Prediction- Who will win today's match?

Both the teams would be looking to start their PSL campaigns with a win.

Published - 19 Feb 2021, 19:44 IST | Updated - 19 Feb 2021, 19:44 IST

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The sixth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) will kickstart with the Karachi Kings taking on the Quetta Gladiators on 20^th February 2021. Both sides have won the PSL title once. While the Karachi Kings are the defending champions of the PSL, the Gladiators won the title in the year 2019.

The Quetta Gladiators will be led by Sarfaraz Ahmed, whereas Imad Wasim will handle the leadership duties of the Karachi Kings. Both sides have some match-winners in their arsenal. While the Gladiators have the likes of Chris Gayle, Tom Banton, and Ben Cutting in their ranks, the Karachi side also has some heavyweights like Colin Ingram, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Amir, and of course, Babar Azam.

The inaugural match will take place at the National Stadium in Karachi. Both the teams would be looking to start their PSL campaigns with a win.

Pitch and Conditions

The pitch is one that will favor the batsmen. The batsmen will get complete value for their shots on this pitch and they can cash in and score some big runs if they can settle down. The bowlers will have to really bend their backs if they have to get purchase on this surface.

Playing Combinations for Karachi Kings vs Quetta Gladiators

Karachi Kings:

Sharjeel Khan, Chadwick Walton (WK), Babar Azam, Colin Ingram, Zeeshan Malik, Mohammad Nabi, Imad Wasim (C), Daniel Christian, Mohammad Amir, Aamer Yamin, Waqas Maqsood/Mohammad Ilyas

Bench: Danish Aziz, Mohammad Ilyas/Waqas Maqsood, Joe Clarke

Quetta Gladiators:

Chris Gayle, Tom Banton, Cameron Delport, Sarfaraz Ahmed (c and wk), Azam Khan, Ben Cutting, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Hasnain, Naseem Shah, Usman Shinwari, Zahid Mehmood

Bench: Saim Ayub, Arish Ali Khan, Abdul Nasir, Anwar Ali

Probable Top Performers

Chris Gayle

He is the Universe Boss. Even at the age of 41, Chris Gayle continues to decimate bowling attacks. In the 13^th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL), Gayle was in murderous form and scored 288 runs from 7 innings at an average of 41.14. He also scored 3 fifties in the tournament. If Gayle can get going tomorrow, then the Karachi bowlers will have a lot of worries to contend with.

Babar Azam

In the recently concluded third T20I against South Africa, Babar Azam showed glimpses of his classy self and scored a 30-ball 44. The right-hander is also the second-highest run-scorer in PSL history and has amassed 1516 runs at an average of 37.90. If he can come good in this match, then the Karachi Kings have a bright chance of starting on a winning note.