Sultans face Zalmi in HBL PSL2020 semifinal preview

• Match will be played at Gaddafi Stadium Lahore on Tuesday.

Habib Bank Limited (HBL) Pakistan Super League (PSL) is nothing short of a perfection for Multan Sultans, if we take post tournament words of their owner Ali Tareen, who mentioned about data based approach for the 2020 campaign.

From formation of the team, to the execution of the plan and assessment of their opponents, they all figured out right and ended up topping the table at after round games. It will be very unfortunate if they fail to play the tournament’s final on March 18.

As per the new schedule of the HBL PSLV, top four teams will play semifinals of the tournament, instead of locking horns in the playoffs and two eliminators. Due to coronavirus outbreak, the tournament is now reduced to 33 matches instead of originally planned 34.

Sultans will now have to face Peshawar Zalmi in the semifinal, as they topped the table and Zalmi finished up their campaign at fourth spot.

It would be right to say that Sultans have their number in this year’s campaign, as they defeated them twice by six wickets and 3-runs this year respectively.

They are dominant and very precise thought out the competition. Backed by form of their players, they have become one of the team that others want to avoid playing against.

In terms of numbers, their skipper Shan Masood leading the chart for them and over all on six spot with 253 runs to his name. The list is topped by non-other than Karachi Kings’ Babar Azam, who scored 345 runs so far.

Khushdil Shah and Zeeshan Ashraf have a promising run with the willow in hand, they notched 175 and 169 respectively for Sultans.

As far as bowling is concerned, Sohail Tanvir and Imran Tahir sit at fourth and fifth spot respectively with 10 wickets each. The table is topped by teenage pacer Muhammad Hasnain of Quetta Gladiators with 15.

In their 10-match campaign this year, Sultans secured 14 points losing three games in their quest to finish on top.

If we move towards former HBL PSL Champions Peshawar Zalmi, they barely made it to the knockouts thanks to their improved run-rate. They managed to win only four games and secured a point for a match being called off due to rain against Islamabad United.

On their way to the knockouts, they defeated the defending champions Quetta Gladiators twice, and won a game against Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars.

It is nothing short to tragedy for Zalmi, they had to change their captain and also lost all of their foreign player, who left the tournament amid coronavirus fears.

The shift of the leadership from Darren Sammy to Wahab Riaz bought them two crucial victories. They lost their way when they were in a position to make into top four directly instead of relying on others.

They became the first team in history to field a side without any overseas player in the competition. Following the outcome of the round games, they now have taken services of an experienced T20 player Sikandar Raza, who played for Karachi Kings last year.

With their head coach Darren Sammy still doubtful to take the field, Zalmi are off major disadvantage taking on Sultans in the first semifinal on March 17.

If we look at stats of this year, it would bring some relief for Zalmi fans that they are dependent of their national starts. With 251 runs to his name, Kamran Akmal is their leading runs scorer, and overall he is seventh spot this year. He is also the leading run scorer of the HBL PSL history with over 1500 runs to his name. Shoaib Malik and Haider Ali are also coming up handy with the bat as they scored 239 each for their side.

In wickets column, Wahab Riaz, who is also the leading wicket taker in history of the tournament, is at the third spot with 11, followed by Hassan Ali and Rahat Ali who share eight wickets each and are 11^th and 12^th spots respectively.

So the stage is set for both the teams, Sultans will be playing their first semifinal while Zalmi have been there every single time. The high octane match will begin at 2PM PST at the Gaddafi Stadium Lahore.