Today, Islamabad United will face Peshawar Zalmi in the eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2023). The match will take place at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi, and Islamabad will try to recover from their loss to Multan Sultans, while Peshawar aims to secure another crucial win in the event.
Peshawar currently holds the third position on the points table, with four points after three games, whereas Islamabad is placed fifth with two points after two matches. In their PSL opener, Babar Azam-led Peshawar defeated Karachi Kings but lost to league leaders Multan Sultans in their second match. However, the Yellow Storm made a comeback in their third game against Quetta Gladiators. Islamabad, on the other hand, won their PSL debut match against Karachi but lost to Multan Sultans in their second match.
Here are five interesting stats about the upcoming clash:
- Head-to-Head: Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi have faced each other 19 times, with both teams winning nine games each, while one match was abandoned.
- Highest total: The highest total between Islamabad United and Peshawar Zalmi was in June 2021, when the former scored a mammoth 247 runs on the scoreboard, making it the highest total in PSL history.
- Largest victory (by runs): Islamabad United holds the record for the largest victory between the two teams, beating Peshawar Zalmi by 50 runs in their encounter during the inaugural edition of PSL on February 21, 2016.
- Most runs in an innings: Sharjeel Khan scored the highest individual runs for Islamabad against Peshawar Zalmi, smashing 117 runs in the 2016 edition. Currently, he is playing for Karachi Kings in PSL 8.
- Most runs conceded in an innings: Islamabad’s Zafar Gohar is the bowler who conceded the most runs during a match against Peshawar Zalmi. The pacer gave away 65 runs in his allotted four overs in the 2021 edition in Abu Dhabi.
The squads for the match are as follows:
Islamabad United: Shadab Khan, Asif Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Colin Munro, Paul Stirling, Alex Hales, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Abrar Ahmed, Sohaib Maqsood, Rumman Raees, Zeeshan Zamir, Hassan Nawaz, Moeen Ali (available from March 14), Mubasir Khan, Tom Curran, Zafar Gohar, Gus Atkinson (partial replacement for Rahmanullah Gurbaz), Tymal Mills (partial replacement for Alex Hales), Rassie van der Dussen (partial replacement for Moeen Ali).
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam, Dasun Shanaka, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Haris, Aamir Jamal, Salman Irshad, Tom-Kohler Cadmore, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Rovman Powell, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Danish Aziz, Arshad Iqbal, Saim Ayub, Usman Qadir, Suifyan Muqeem, Haseeb Ullah, Jimmy Neesham, Khurram Shahzad, Haris Sohail, Richard Gleeson (partial replacement for Rovman Powell), Peter Hatzoglou (partial replacement for Mujeeb ur Rahman).
