Karachi Kings vs Islamabad United: Will the blue shirts continue their unbeaten streak?
Karachi Kings look to continue their unbeaten run as they take on Islamabad United in the 15th fixture of the Pakistan Super league (PSL) on Sunday at Sharjah.
Currently sitting just above Lahore Qalandars — who the United denied their maiden victory in the season after a thrilling super over finish — Islamabad are relying on their young blood under the captaincy of old guard and former national team skipper Misbah-ul-Haq.
They will miss their Vice Captain Rumman Raees who is unlikely to play as he is recovering from a knee injury.
Nevertheless, with JP Duminy looking better in the last fixture after a disastrous innings against the Quetta Gladiators, and Hussain Talat having scored a total of 90 runs in the last three games without giving away his wicket, United may have reason to be optimistic about their chances today.
However, they're up against the Kings who are top of the table with three big wins under their belt already. Captained by Imad Wasim, they've been in top form so far with solid overall performances both in the bowling and batting departments.
But, having played their last match on Feb 26 (their game against the Multan Sultans on Friday was washed out), the Kings may take their time to settle in on the Sharjah pitch, which may be Islamabad's biggest advantage as they have already played two games — including PSL's first tied game — in the ground.
The match begins at 9pm today.
Squads
Karachi Kings
Imad Wasim (captain), Shahid Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Ravi Bopara, Usman Khan Shinwari, Usama Mir, Khurram Manzoor, Colin Ingram, Tymal Mills, Joe Denly, David Wiese, Tabish Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Hasan Mohsin, Lendl Simmons, Eoin Morgan and Saifullah Bangash.
Islamabad United
Misbah ul Haq (captain), Alex Hales, Asif Ali, JP Duminy, Iftikhar Ahmed, Sahibzada Farhan, Amad Butt, Andre Russell, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Hussain Talat, Steven Finn (replaced David Willey), Sam Billings, Luke Ronchi, Mohammad Hasan, Rohail Nazir, Mohammad Sami, Rumman Raees (vice captain), Samuel Badree, Zafar Gohar, Mohammad Hasnain, Samit Patel (as cover for Asela Gunaratne who was a cover for JP Duminy), and Chadwick Walton (cover for Sam Billings).