PSL 2018, Match 2: Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings – Match Predictions

It’s a doubleheader in PSL on day 2 and the first game will see the Karachi Kings and the Quetta Gladiators go head to head at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Both the teams have power packed squads and they will be keen to put out their A game on the park in their opening encounter. It promises to be a mouth-watering prospect.

None of the Kings and the Gladiators have won the PSL so far, but the Gladiators were one of the best teams last season and even played the final. So they will ideally want to start off from where they left, even though the complexion of the squad isn’t quite the same anymore with the new players’ draft taking place for this year’s tournament.

Probable nature of the pitch

It will be a different pitch for this game than the one that would be used on Day 1. However, it should still be sluggish as generally the pitches at this venue happen to be. The ball should hold up and the spinners will get a lot of help. It will be a struggle to time the ball as the match goes forward which means batting first is advisable to the captains and that’s what they will be looking to do as well if they win the toss.

Playing Combination

Quetta Gladiators

The biggest strength of Quetta is their captain Sarfraz Ahmed. The wicketkeeper-batsman has gone from strength to strength as a leader in white ball Cricket of late. He is a really positive and attacking captain and always likes to push his boys to take their performance to another level, which ultimately fetches extraordinary results for the team. He will look to lead the team by example by making handy contributions with the bat too.

Quetta’s overseas picks will be Kevin Pietersen, Jason Roy, Rashid Khan and Jofra Archer. All four of them featured in the recently finished Big Bash League and while Pietersen and Roy didn’t have a consistent run, Rashid and Archer put on some amazing performances with the ball for their respective teams and played a key role in them qualifying for the final. They will like to replicate it for Quetta as well.

Predicted XI: Umar Amin, Jason Roy, Kevin Pietersen, Rameez Raja, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Asad Shafiq, Mohammad Nawaz, Anwar Ali, Jofra Archer, Rashid Khan, Rahat Ali

Karachi Kings

Karachi will be playing under Imad Wasim who in the Pakistani Cricketing circles is rated as someone with the leadership potential and he will have a great chance to show what he has to offer as a captain. He is hugely valuable for any T20 side purely as a player as well. He is an accurate left spinner who is capable of bowling at any stage of the innings and can deposit the ball into the stands with a bat in hand too.

Karachi’s overseas quartet will be composed of Lendl Simmons, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara and Tymal Mills. Simmons will probably open the innings, while Morgan and his compatriot Bopara will be the backbone of the middle order. Mills also will have a point to prove after going unsold in the IPL auctions. He had a horrible BBL which didn’t enhance his reputation as a T20 freelancer and he needs to set it right.

Predicted XI: Lendl Simmons, Khurram Manzoor, Babar Azam, Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara, Mohammad Rizwan, Shahid Afridi, Imad Wasim (C), Usman Khan, Mohammad Amir, Tymal Mills

Here is what CricTracker predicts for the game

Probable Top Performers

Rashid Khan (Quetta Gladiators) | Eoin Morgan (Karachi Kings)

Head to Head

Matches – 4 Quetta Gladiators – 4 Karachi Kings – 0 Tie – 0

Timing of the match: 05:00 pm IST

Broadcast Details

TV – D Sport

The prediction is for the Karachi Kings to beat the Quetta Gladiators in this match.