FANTASY
Follow UsMultan Sultans will take on Lahore Qalandars in Match 28 of the Pakistan Super League at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi on Friday (June 18). Multan have won all of their games since the resumption of the tournament and are placed fourth on the points table. Meanwhile, Lahore have lost their last three encounters but are still at No. 3.
All stats till June 17, 2021
PSL HEAD-TO-HEAD
Overall: 8 | Multan 4 | Lahore 4
Last five matches: Multan 3 | Lahore 2
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
The Sheikh Zayed Stadium has so far hosted 13 encounters this season and the batsmen here have scored runs at an average of 25.8 and have lost a wicket every 18.1 balls. The two games played at this venue on Thursday were high-scoring thrillers.
The fast bowlers have taken more wickets but the spinners have a slightly better average and strike rate. The seamers here have an average of 28.7 and a strike rate of 20.5, while the corresponding numbers for the spinners are 27.8 and 20.1 respectively.
CAPTAIN
Based on the current form, it is tough to look past Mohammed Rizwan as a choice for the captain. He is the second-highest run-scorer in the season after Babar Azam but has played a game less. Being the wicketkeeper, he is bound to provide more points as well.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Rizwan will score 36-54 runs in this match.
X-FACTORS
Imran Tahir, who only played one match in the first half of the tournament, has featured in all of Multan's three encounters since the resumption of the tournament and has been one of the key reasons why they have been doing so well. The legspinner has picked up seven wickets in four games at a strike rate of 12.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Tahir will pick up 2-3 wickets in this match.
Tim David has managed to make quite an impression in the second half of the tournament. The powerful right-hander, who plays international cricket for Singapore, has so far smashed 170 runs in five innings at an average of 56.66 and a strike rate of 170. David has scores of 23*, 64*, 3, 46 and 34 in this edition and has failed only once with the bat.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts David will score 21-31 runs in this match.
Lahore signed James Faulkner just ahead of the Abu Dhabi leg and the left-arm seamer from Australia has picked up 11 wickets in five games so far. The 31-year-old has taken three three-wicket hauls in four games and has also chipped in with the bat a couple of times. The batsmen have struggled to pick his variations and Faulkner could once again be amongst wickets against Multan.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Faulkner will pick up 0-1 wickets in this match.