Hales-Sterling Show Trumps Rutherford’s Masterclass to Hand United a Big Win

Islamabad United started their PSL 2022 campaign with a bang, defeating Peshawar Zalmi by 9 wickets. Islamabad has moved up to second place in the PSL points table, while Zalmi has dropped to fourth place.

Peshawar Zalmi got off to a bad start, losing early wickets to an Islamabad United bowling line-up that restricted the run-flow along the way. Shoaib Malik and Sherfane Rutherford steadied the ship for Zalmi before Ben Cutting arrived in the middle and helped Zalmi to a respectable total of 168/6 with Rutherford.

Islamabad United’s openers got off to a fast start, destroying Zalmi’s bowling unit.

Stirling and Hales both hit 50s in quick succession as United chased down the target with 9 wickets in hand and more than 4 overs to spare. The Zalmi bowlers were helpless against the onslaught, and their only wicket came via a runout.
Stirling was named match winner for his swashbuckling half-century. This was the PSL’s second-fastest half-century.

Pre-match

Islamabad United, the two-time PSL champions, will face last year’s finalists, Peshawar Zalmi, in the fifth match of the PSL 2022 on Sunday, January 30. The match, which will take place at Karachi’s National Stadium, will begin at 2:30 p.m. PST.

Match Preview

Peshawar will look to build on their recent success when they face Islamabad United in a high-octane match at National Stadium Karachi. In their previous match, Peshawar pulled off an incredible run-chase, chasing down a target of 191 against Quetta Gladiators to earn their first points on the PSL points table.

Zalmi will be boosted further by the inclusion of captain Wahab Riaz and veteran wicket-keeper batter Kamran Akmal, both of whom have recovered fully from COVID-19.

Islamabad, on the other hand, will be playing for the first time this season. Islamabad was the team to beat in the PSL 6 group stages.

The Red Hot Squad set a new record for the most group stage wins in a single PSL season, winning 8 of their 10 matches. They did falter in the playoffs, however, and were eliminated in the second eliminator by Zalmi.
Islamabad United, on the other hand, now has a nearly complete squad available for the match and will field a strong team.

Peshawar is expected to make one change from the previous match, with Wahab replacing Sohail Khan in the starting lineup.

Match Details

Date Sunday, 30 January 2022
Time 02:30 pm PKT
Venue National Stadium Karachi
Live Stream LINK

Possible Playing XIs:

Islamabad Possible XI – Shadab Khan (c), Paul Stirling, Alex Hales, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Azam Khan (wk), Asif Ali, Mubasir Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jr., Hasan Ali, Marchant de Lange

Peshawar Possible XI – Wahab Riaz (c), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (wk), Yasir Khan, Haider Ali, Hussain Talat, Shoaib Malik, Sherfane Rutherford, Ben Cutting, Usman Qadir, Sameen Gul, Pat Brown

Head to Head

In total, the two teams have met 15 times during the tournament. Peshawar has an advantage with eight wins to United’s seven. They last met on 22 June 2021 in the second eliminator of the PSL 6 in Abu Dhabi, which Zalmi won by 8 wickets.

X-Factor

Peshawar had a few players contribute to their team’s success in the previous match, but they struggled a little in the bowling department. Wahab Riaz is expected to turn around their bowling unit’s fortunes. The ferocious pacer is the leading wicket-taker in PSL history and will be aiming to perform to his full potential in order to re-enter the national team.

Islamabad, on the other hand, has a team full of match-winners. Shadab Khan, Alex Hales, Hasan Ali, Asif Ali, and Paul Stirling are all capable of winning the match on their own, but our selection is a bit out of the ordinary. Wasim, Mohammad Jr.has demonstrated his abilities, and his accurate death bowling and power-hitting ability make him an invaluable asset to any team in the world.

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