Multan Sultans vs Karachi Kings, PSL 2021: Fantasy Preview

Multan Sultans will take on Karachi Kings in Match 16 of the Pakistan Super League at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Thursday (June 10). Imad Wasim's Karachi were at top of the table before the tournament was suspended, while Multan were placed at No. 5. Mohammad Rizwan and Co. only won one of their five encounters, while Karachi managed to win three out of their five games.

There were quite a few players who made themselves unavailable for the remainder of the competition, but the organizing committee carried out a mini replacement draft on May 22. The franchises were allowed to replace those players and also pick two additional players in their original squads. Both Multan and Karachi have managed to acquire some world-class players ahead of the second half of the tournament.

All stats till June 8, 2021

PSL HEAD-TO-HEAD

Overall - 6 | Multan – 1 Win | Karachi – 5 Wins

SUGGESTED TEAMS

While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your own team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. Based on algorithms, we have come up with one team.

GROUND DETAILS AND TEAM COMBINATION

Many of the Pakistan and Afghanistan national team players as well as the overseas players who have toured the UAE are well aware of the conditions in Abu Dhabi. The summer temperatures ranging between 37°C – 40°C offer ideal sub-continental conditions for late-night matches where an increase in humidity could play a part.

Since 2020, a total of 25 T20s have been played at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium where pacers have been more successful than the spinners. The fast bowlers here have an average of 28.9 and a strike rate of 20.5, compared to spinners' 34 and 27.6 respectively. The former have picked up 3.5 wickets every innings, while spinners have got 1.6. The tweakers however have a better economy rate (7.4 compared to 8.4).

Meanwhile, the batsmen here have an average of 29.4 in this period and have lost a wicket every 21.6 deliveries. They have scored runs at a strike rate of 135.9.

CAPTAIN SELECTION

It's very difficult to look past Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam when it comes to selecting your captain. Rizwan (297) and Azam (258) are currently the top two run-getters in the tournament and have slammed three fifties each. The two were also amongst runs in the T20I series against South Africa and Zimbabwe.

While Rizwan slammed four unbeaten half-centuries in seven innings, Azam got two fifties and a century. Azam also averages 63 against Multan in PSL. You can pick any one of them as your captain, while the other could be the vice-captain. If needed, Rizwan might give you extra points with his wicketkeeping.

Our Criclytics player projection predicts Rizwan and Azam could score 41-61 and 26-40 runs respectively in this match.

X-FACTORS

Shahnawaz Dhani has been travelling with the Pakistan national side after impressing everyone in the first half of the tournament. The 22-year-old is yet to make his international debut, but he did force everyone to sit up and take notice after making his PSL debut this year. The right-arm fast bowler has got good pace and picked up nine wickets in four encounters before the competition was suspended. He has an economy of over 10 but Dhani is simply an outright wicket-taker.  

Our Criclytics player projection predicts Dhani could pick 0-1 wickets in this match.

Rahmanullah Gurbaz is a fearsome opener from Afghanistan! The 19-year-old smoked 127 against Ireland on his ODI debut at this very venue in January 2021. In his last T20I series against Zimbabwe in March, the right-hander played a brutal knock of 87. He smashed six fours and seven sixes in his innings. Since 2020, Gurbaz averages 27.62 in T20s and has an outstanding strike rate of 161.1. If he gets going, Gurbaz can fetch you lots of points.  

Our Criclytics player projection predicts Gurbaz could score 22-32 runs in this match.