Key match-ups, squad lists, head-to-head record, weather forecast, prediction, odds, form guide and more ahead of the next game of the 2022 Pakistan Super League season
Karachi Kings take on Islamabad United in the Pakistan Super League.
The game is set for Sunday, February 6. The first ball will be bowled at 7:30pm local time (2:30pm GMT).
The game will be held at the National Stadium in Karachi.
Islamabad United have shown class despite an up and down start to PSL 7. They have won two games out of four and sit third in the table.
They won games either side of the slight hiccup against league-leaders Multan Sultans, in which they failed to chase down 217, despite the efforts of skipper Shadab Khan, who blasted 91 from 42 deliveries.
Their most impressive performance came against Quetta Gladiators, as they smashed 229 from their 20 overs. Paul Stirling exploded out of the blocks, smashing 58 from 28, and Colin Munro (72 from 39) and Azam Khan (65 from 35) went at a lick on their way to half-centuries.
They did, however, lose a close contest versus Lahore Qalandars in their last game, failing to chase down 174 despite good knocks from Colin Munro (60 from 45) and Shadab (52 from 32).
Karachi Kings have had a shocking start to PSL 7. Babar Azam’s side are yet to win a game, sitting bottom on the table without a point from their four fixtures.
In their previous two fixtures, their batting returns have improved, though they haven't been sufficient to secure victory. They set Lahore Qalandars 170, and were only beaten in the final over, and narrowly missed out on victory against Peshawar Zalmi, falling nine runs short at the end of the chase, with skipper Azam finishing 90 not out.
Sharjeel Khan[Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images]
Babar Azam hit his highest score in the PSL (90 from 63) last time out, lifting himself into the top-five run-scorers in the seventh edition of the competition.
Opening partner Sharjeel Khan is another in-form batter in the Kings side. He was dismissed for a duck last time out but hit 113 runs in the previous three matches.
On the other side, Paul Stirling has shown exactly why he is a staple of global franchise T20 competitions and is a mainstay of the Islamabad side.
He will jet off to Oman to play in a T20I series for Ireland after this game, and will want to go out with a bang, and improve on his 148 runs so far in the tournament.
Alex Hales has impressed at the top of the order alongside the Irishman. He has hit 138 runs, with his highest score an unbeaten 82. The Englishman will no doubt be keen to maintain that form, given the top two will be dismantled after this game.
Matches played: 16
Karachi Kings wins: 6
Islamabad United wins: 10
A clear evening is expected in Karachi, with temperatures at around 22 degrees Celsius.
Karachi Kings: Babar Azam, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Nabi, Mohammad Amir, Joe Clarke, Sharjeel Khan, Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Ilyas, Chris Jordan, Lewis Gregory, Umaid Asif, Tom Abell (injured, replaced by Ian Cockbain), Rohail Nazir, Muhammad Imran, Faisal Akram, Qasim Akram, Talha Ahsan, Romario Shepherd (unavailable, replaced by Tom Lammonby)
Supplementary round: Sahibzada Farhan, Jordan Thompson
Partial replacement: Mohammad Taha Khan
Islamabad United: Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Azam Khan, Paul Stirling, Colin Munro, Marchant de Lange, Muhammad Akhlaq, Reece Topley, Danish Aziz, Zafar Gohar, Mubasir Khan, M. Zeeshan, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ather Mehmood
Supplementary draft: Musa Khan, Zahir Khan
Partial replacement: Mohammad Huraira, Liam Dawson
Paul Stirling goes big [Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images]
Karachi Kings: Babar Azam, Sharjeel Khan, Sahibzada Farhan, Ian Cockbain, Mohammad Nabi, Aamer Yamin, Imad Wasim, Lewis Gregory, Mohammad Taha, Umaid Asif, Mohammad Imran
Islamabad United: Paul Stirling, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Mubasir Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim, Hasan Ali, Waqas Maqsood
Islamabad’s top form should continue as bottom of the league Karachi lack the firepower to contend with them.
In Pakistan, games will be on A Super and PTV Sports.
In the UK games will be shown on Sky Sports Cricket (Sky 404, Virgin 504).
In Australia, the games will be shown on Foxtel, Fox Sports and Kayo.
In India, Sony Sports Network carries the broadcast rights.
In the Caribbean, Flow Sports hold the broadcast rights, with Willow TV showing the tournament in North America.
SuperSport will provide coverage in South Africa, while Sky Sport will show the matches in New Zealand.
The PCB has partnered with ICC TV and tapmad TV to broadcast PSL7 in: Andorra, Antarctica, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bouvet Island, Bouvet Island, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory, Brunei, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Cocos Island, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, East Timor, Ecuador, Estonia, Falkland Islands, Faroe islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Georgia, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guyana, Heard Island, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgystan, Laos, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Caledonia, North Korea, Norway, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, Vietnam and Venezuela.
The commentary line-up includes Nick Knight, David Gower, Mike Haysman, Pommie Mbangwa, Danny Morrison, Bazid Khan, Waqar Younis, Urooj Mumtaz, Sana Mir, Marina Iqbal and Tariq Saeed. Erin Holland, Zainab Abbas and Sikandar Bakht will present the live coverage.
PSL GUIDES (open in external window in app)