PSL 2018, Match 1: Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans – Match Predictions

The 3rd season of the Pakistan Super League will kick off tomorrow in the United Arab Emirates with the reigning champions Peshawar Zalmi taking on the new entrant Multan Sultans at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The PSL has been gaining more and more popular since its inception and it should be a full house for this opening game which will feature quite a few of the T20 stalwarts from around the globe.

The Peshawar Zalmi due to the fact that they are a settled unit and have been together for the last couple of seasons have a slightly upper hand walking into this encounter, but the Sultans too have made some great signings in the players’ draft and have put a quality support staff in place as well.  So they will also back themselves to announce their arrival into the league with a bang.

Pitch and Conditions

Dubai, over the years, has had the reputation of producing sluggish surfaces even in the limited-over games and because of the nature of the pitch, stroke-play is incredibly difficult at this venue which is the reason why there is not much chance of a high scoring game.

Batting first is a better option as apart from the pitch being sluggish, the boundaries are big too and once you put a decent total on the board, you can force the opposition to play the square bat shots under the scoreboard pressure later which might cause frequent dismissals.

Playing Combinations

Peshawar Zalmi

The Zalmi is now without the services of the legendary Shahid Afridi who has left the franchise, but they have a strong leader in the form of Darren Sammy who captained them excellently last season and played a pivotal role in their successful campaign.

Sammy is someone the team will look up to again, not only for his leadership potential but for his contribution with the bat as well. The 34-year old possesses the capability of changing the course of any T20 game with his hard hitting.

Apart from Sammy, the other three overseas players that the Zalmi are likely to pick are Tamim Iqbal, Dwayne Bravo, and Chris Jordan. It looks quite a powerful overseas quartet to go with some of the reputed domestic names like Mohammad Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, and Sohail Tanvir. The Zalmi is one mighty strong unit.

Predicted XI: Tamim Iqbal, Mohammad Hafeez, Darren Sammy (captain), Haris Sohail, Dwayne Bravo, Saad Nasim, Khalid Usman, Kamran Akmal, Chris Jordan, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Asghar

Multan Sultans

As far as the Sultans are concerned, this is their first crack at the PSL. They have appointed Shoaib Malik as the captain who is highly experienced in white ball Cricket and has also led the Pakistan national team in the past.

The batting of the Sultans looks solid with the left-right combination of Ahmed Shehzad and Shan Masood at the top of the order. Sohail Tanvir might be used in the pinch-hitting role at no. 3, while the skipper himself will take care of the middle order alongside Kumar Sangakkara, with finishing touches to be provided by Thisara Perera and Kieron Pollard.

Bowling wise too, the Sultans have got it covered with the left arm speedster Mohammad Irfan there to share the new ball with Junaid Khan and Umar Gul being the trump card in the death overs with his variations. Imran Tahir will be the lone spinner in the XI and he will have the onus on him to deliver the breakthroughs in the middle part of the innings.

Predicted XI: Ahmed Shehzad, Shan Masood, Shoaib Malik (captain), Sohail Tanvir, Kieron Pollard, Kumar Sangakkara, Umar Gul, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Imran Tahir, Thisara Perera

Here is what CricTracker predicts for the game:

Probable Top Performers

Darren Sammy (Peshawar Zalmi) | Ahmed Shehzad (Multan Sultans)

Timing of the match: 10:30 pm IST

Broadcast Details

TV – D Sport

The prediction is for Peshawar Zalmi to beat the Multan Sultans in this match