MS vs QG Match Preview
Multan Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan has carried his excellent form from the BPL as he scored a superb half-century in the season opener. His 75 runs of 50 deliveries set the tone for the Sultans’ chase as they needed to get 176 from 20 overs.
Rizwan received good support from his opening partner, Shan Masood as the duo put up a 100-run partnership for the opening wicket.
While the team will take some positives from the batting despite the loss, the bowling remains an area of concern for them. Imran Tahir, who was instrumental in their success in the previous season, is unavailable and so is David Willey.
In their absence, much of the responsibilities will rest on the likes of Shahnawaz Dahani, Akeal Hossain, and the young Ihsanullah to put the opposition batsmen under pressure.
captain Sarfaraz Ahmed will be looking at things from a fresh perspective in this new season as he seems to be carrying some good form after scoring an international century against New Zealand. The team has included some big hitters in the squad. Iftikhar Ahmed was in excellent touch during the Bangladesh Premier League and will be hoping to build up on that.
Joining him will be the likes of Jason Roy, Will Smead, Martin Guptill, and Will Jacks. While the team has let go of James Faulkner and Tanvir Sohail, they included some good all-rounders like Odean Smith and Wanindu Hasaranga.
Naseem Shah will be leading the pace attack.
Weather Report
The weather is expected to be clear with temperatures of between 18-23 degrees Celsius.
Pitch Report
As demonstrated in the season opener, the pitch at Multan is excellent to bat on and has regularly seen scores of above 160 in the latest National T20 Cup. Since the match will be played at night, the dew will play an important role and make it difficult for the bowlers to grip the ball, especially in the second innings. Teams batting first will have to get a score of over 180-190 to give their bowlers a fighting chance.
Notable stats
Kieron Pollard's Consistent Batting
Kieron Pollard has been one of the most consistent batsmen in the T20 format. In 546 innings, he has scored 11935 runs at a stunning strike rate of 150.27.
Team News
There are no injuries reported from either side.
MS vs QG Probable 11
MS Playing 11
- Mohammad Rizwan (C)
- Shan Masood
- Usman Khan
- Kieron Pollard
- David Miller
- Khushdil Shah
- Usama Mir
- Akeal Hossain
- Sameen Gul
- Shahnawaz Dahani
- Ihsanullah
QG Playing 11
- Sarfaraz Ahmed (C)
- Jason Roy
- Wanindu Hasaranga
- Iftikhar Ahmed
- Martin Guptill
- Naseem Shah
- Umar Akmal
- Abdul Wahid Bangalzai
- Umaid Asif
- Mohammad Hasnain
- Mohammad Nawaz
Dream11 Prediction
Both teams appear pretty strong on paper and have somewhat similar chances of winning here. However, we are going to back the Multan Sultans to win here as they have a better record against the Gladiators in their recent contests and also have some strong all-rounders in the team.
Top Picks
Khushdil Shah: Khushdil Shah had an excellent time in the Bangladesh Premier League where he scored 239 runs at a strike rate of 161.48 and also picked up 8 wickets.
Jason Roy: Roy is an excellent top-order batsman for the Gladiators. In the last 6 matches, he has scored 303 runs at a strike rate of 170.22.
Wanindu Hasaranga: Wanindu Hasaranga ended up as the top wicket-taker for the Desert Vipers in the recently concluded ILT20 with 15 wickets in 9 innings and is likely to be quite effective on the pitch at Multan.
MS vs QG Dream11 Team 1
Keeper: M Rizwan
Batters: K Pollard, D Miller, J Roy, S Masood, I Ahmed
All-rounders: W Hasaranga (C), K Shah (VC)
Bowlers: M Hasnain, N Shah, S Dahani
