PSL 2018, Match 19: Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings – Match Predictions

Karachi Kings suffered their first loss in the ongoing edition of PSL the other evening against the Islamabad United and as a result of that, they lost their top spot in the points table. However, they are still pretty comfortable sitting at the no. 2 position and have a good chance of making it to the knockouts. They are playing against Quetta Gladiators tonight who will be high on confidence having beaten the table toppers Multan Sultans in a close encounter yesterday.

Karachi and Quetta have already had a faceoff in PSL 3 and the former had managed to win that game by 19 runs. It was played at the same venue as well. So Karachi would have fond memories of that and they will definitely believe they can replicate that. Quetta, on the other hand, will have other intentions as they will be keen to level it up.

Probable nature of the pitch

The pitches of late at Dubai have been slightly better than before. In the first leg of the tournament, some of the surfaces on offer were just not good enough for the shortest format of the game, however, it’s not exactly been the case anymore as they have returned to the venue for the second streak.

These pitches, however, don’t have a lot of carrying through and on-the-up stroke play is still not easy. They are still a tad abrasive and are slow in nature and are not the kind where a high scoring game is possible.

Also what needs to be noted is that it’s the second game of the doubleheader and will be played on a used surface. So the surface might have worn down a fraction and that’s the reason the captain winning the toss might like to bat.

Playing Combination

Quetta Gladiators

Yesterday’s win was simply crazy for Quetta because none of their batsmen managed to cross the 30-run mark, still, they chased down a 150 plus target and that’s because everyone chipped in with the bat here and there. There were a lot of the 20s scored which did the job for them, however, they would not want it to continue like that going ahead. Somebody from the top order must put his hand up and take the responsibility of batting through the innings and scoring a 70-80.

Asad Shafiq has to be the man to do that. He has a conventional approach to the game and plays Cricketing shots rather than looking to muscle the ball as some of the other batsmen in the Quetta line up do.

Sarfaraz Ahmed needs to bat slightly up the order for Quetta as well. No. 4 is ideally suited for him as he has this ability to rotate the strike really well. Also because he is a fine player of spin, he can get odd boundaries every now and again in the middle overs to set the platform for Rilee Rossouw, Anwar Ali and Mohammad Nawaz to launch.

Predicted XI: Asad Shafiq, Shane Watson, Sarfaraz Ahmed (C), Umar Amin, Rilee Rossouw, Mohammad Nawaz, Kevin Pietersen, Hasan Khan, Anwar Ali, Ben Laughlin, Rahat Ali

Karachi Kings

Karachi Kings need to send a clear message to Babar Azam that he can’t chew as many deliveries as he has been doing of late. Yes, his role in the team is to drop anchor and bat long, but he has to keep ticking the scoreboard over. He plays too many dots at the start of his innings and then finds himself lacking the power to make up for it with the big shots later. He needs to be a bit busy at the crease.

Maybe Karachi can open the innings with Babar and slot Colin Ingram at 3 moving Bopara up to 4. Currently, these two guys are not getting enough time out there in the middle to make the difference as they are batting too low.

Also opening with Babar will create another overseas slot for Karachi where they can put the South African all-rounder David Wiese. Wiese is a lusty hitter down the order and is a good, effective T20 bowler with plenty of variations in his armory.

Predicted XI: Ravi Bopara, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Amir, David Wiese, Colin Ingram, Tymal Mills, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Imad Wasim (c), Mohammad Irfan Jnr, Mohammad Amir

Probable Top Performers

Mohammad Nawaz (Quetta Gladiators) | Khurram Manzoor (Karachi Kings)

Head to Head

Matches – 5, Quetta Gladiators – 4, Karachi Kings – 1

The timing of the match: 09:30 pm IST

Broadcast Details

TV – D Sport

The prediction is for the Quetta Gladiators to beat the Karachi Kings in a thriller.