Key match-ups, analysis, form, team news, weather forecast, tickets, TV and streaming information, odds, predictions and more ahead of the latest encounter in the 2023 PSL
Islamabad United take on the Karachi Kings in the next match in the PSL8.
The match is scheduled to start at 7pm local time (2pm GMT) on Friday, March 3.
The game is being hosted at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
Both sides are coming into the game fresh off a loss; Islamabad, having played fewer games than their opponents, find themselves in a better table position with three wins from a possible five; however, their inferior and negative net run rate so far in the competition could really affect their play-off chances if not corrected in future fixtures.
The Karachi kings have played seven; losing five not the kind of start that Kings would have wanted to their PSL8 competition. Despite a poor start, there is hope, however, after a massive result in which they bowled out Multan Sultans for just 101.
A win in this game would send United above Sultans and into a fantastic position for the business end of the tournament; losing by 110 runs last time out, Shadab Khan will hope his side can bounce back and get back to winning ways. Both sides will be raring to go and will be looking to put them loses behind them.
The teams have clashed 18 times prior to this fixture and United are the clear victors with 12 games ending in their favour while the Kings only boast six occasions.
The key match-up will be the ball, with United having the skills of Tom Curran and Hasan Ali they will look to limit Kings from ball one. Kings' top order hasn't been firing this tournament at all with Imad Wasim being their top scorer while batting in the lower middle order. So, from previous games in this tournament if United can get rid of Wasim and make the top order faulter the game could already be in the bag for Islamabad.
But you cannot write off Kings completely; with the likes of Mohammad Amir in their ranks, they have world-class firepower of their own. It just depends on if the Pakistani bowler is given any assistance by the rest of his bowling attack.
Tom Curran is key for Islamabad [Arif Ali/Getty Images]
Alex Hales has joined Islamabad United for the remainder of PSL8 after opting against being involved with England in Bangladesh.
Islamabad United: Asif Ali, Hasan Ali, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales (withdrew due to Covid fatigue, replaced by Nasir Nawaz), 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 (joined up with Afghanistan, replaced by Will Jacks), Ather Mehmood, Zahid Mehmood
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), Usman Shinwari (injury replacement for Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Ilyas)
*squads are for the overall competition and not specific to this match
Islamabad United: Colin Munro, Alex Hales, Rassie van der Dussen, Shadab Khan, Azam Khan, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Tom Curran, Hasan Ali, Zeeshan Zameer, Abrar Ahmed
Karachi Kings: Matthew Wade, Adam Rossington, Tayyab Tahir, Irfan Khan, Shoaib Malik, Imad Wasim, Ben Cutting, Aamer Yamin, Tabraiz Shamsi, Akif Javed, Mohammad Amir
It is set to be a sunny evening in Rawalpindi, with highs of 25 degres Celsius.
Karachi have struggled this season [Aamir Qureshi/AFP via Getty Images]
The odds are in favour of Islamabad with bookmakers making them favourites at 4/7, while Karachi have been dubbed as underdogs with victory odds of 5/4.
Islamabad will win this; their bowling attack along with the addition of Hales will be too overpowering for an underperforming Karachi.
Cricket fans in Pakistan will be able to watch PSL8 on A Sports, PTV Sports and TEN Sports on TV. Streamed matches will be available on Daraz App, tapmadTV and Tamasha.
Viewers around the world can watch the action live on Fox Sports (Australia), Sony (South Asia outside Pakistan), Willow TV (North America), Flow Sports (Caribbean), Sky Sports (United Kingdom), Sky Sport (New Zealand), Super Sport (sub-Saharan Africa) and, Etisalat and STARZPLAY (Mena).
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