PSL 2021: Match 5, Peshawar Zalmi Predicted Playing11 against Multan Sultans

After suffering a defeat in their tournament-opener, Peshawar Zalmi will be looking to bounce back and open their account in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2021 when they lock horns against Multan Sultans on Tuesday (February 23). Zalmi opened their campaign on Sunday with a four-wicket loss at the hands of Lahore Qalandars.

Asked to bat first, the Peshawar-based outfit could only manage 140 for 6 in the allotted 20 overs. Their bowlers did well to make a match out of it but the score was just too small to defend as the Qalandars crossed the finishing line in the 19th over. The 2017 PSL champions know it well that lagging behind at the start of the tournament could cost them dear and they would be keen  to put their campaign on track.

Here is Peshawar Zalmi’s playing eleven for their match against Multan Sultans:

Openers (Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Akmal)

Both the Zalmi openers had endured terrible outings against Lahore Qalandars in the previous game. Imam-ul-Haq as well as Kamran Akmal had failed to give their team a good start as they were dismissed for single-digit scores. In fact, Imam was sent back by his Pakistan teammate Shaheen Afridi on the very first ball of the game.

Akmal, on the other hand, scored five off 10 balls before departing. The Zalmi team-management will be hoping that their star openers deliver tonight to help them open their account in the ongoing tournament.

Middle-order batsmen (Shoaib Malik, Haider Ali, Ravi Bopara, Sherfane Rutherford)

Veteran batsmen Shoaib Malik and Ravi Bopara while youngsters Haider Ali and Sherfane Rutherford will form Zalmi’s middle-order. In the previous outing, the middle-order with the exception of Haider had helped Zalmi put up a competitive total against Lahore Qalandars. Malik and Rutherford had scored 26 runs each but had failed to capitalise on the start.

Bopara was the top-scorer for his team, scoring 50. On the other hand, Haider had failed to open his account and was dismissed for a first-ball duck by Salman Mirza. Haider will be desperate to bounce back after the failure while the likes of Malik, Rutherford and Bopara will be looking to guide their team to a good score if they get the chance.

All-rounder (Amad Butt)

While the likes of Shoaib Malik and Ravi Bopara can also roll their arms when the team needs them to, Amad Butt is the only specialist all-rounder in the team. Unsurprisingly, the expectations are sky high from the 25-year old bowling-allrounder. Butt started the tournament on a promising note and will be looking to do even better in the upcoming game. Against Qalandars, he played a fine cameo of 23 not out off 11 balls to help his side post a respectable total. With the ball, he picked up one wicket.

Bowlers (Wahab Riaz (C)), Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Saqib Mahmood, Mohammad Imran):

The responsibility to contain the Multan Sultans batsmen will be on Wahab Riaz, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Saqib Mahmood and Mohammad Imran. Barring Imran, the other three bowlers had decent outings against Qalandars. Wahab and Mahmood had picked up two wickets apiece while Mujeeb had picked up one.

Their economy-rate was also good. While Wahab conceded 30 runs off four overs, Mahmood and Mujeeb conceded just 22 and 25 runs respectively in their 4-over quota. Imran, on the other hand, gave away 32 runs in his four overs without taking any wicket.