Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalandars, Semi-final 2, PSL 2020: Preview, likely XIs, prediction

Karachi Kings have been there and done that, but this is new territory for Lahore Qalandars. They’re set to play their maiden PSL semi-final when these two sides clash in a crunch clash on Tuesday, and at the outset, it seems the momentum is with Lahore.

Lahore have won four of their last five matches, a run of wins that helped them secure the play-off spot with a third-place finish after they beat table-toppers Multan Sultans in their final league clash on Sunday.

It’s been a terrific run, but there is one catch – their only loss during that streak came against Karachi. It was a hammering too, with Karachi securing a 10-wicket victory after restricting Lahore to just 150/5. However, Lahore will still draw hope from their victory over Karachi earlier in the season – an eight-wicket thumping, in which they chased down a tricky 188-run target.

That said, this is their first final. They have lost some of the big international players in the line-up due to all the restrictions and precautions in place over the pandemic Covid-19 that’s spreading like wildfire. Can they still muster enough to power through to a maiden final?

Not if Karachi have anything to say about that. They’ve won three of their last five matches – not really poor form, but there are signs there that it’s not ideal. That said, they do have experience of playing at these stages of the tournament before, and that will likely prove crucial come semi-final day.

Key players

Babar Azam (Karachi Kings): The league’s top-scorer will have all targets on him. Azam will be key in Karachi doing well in this semi-final, and if the Lahore bowlers can’t stop him, their batsmen better be prepared to come out with the big hits.

Fakhar Zaman (Lahore Qalandars): With Chris Lynn bidding adieu after the league stages, a massive chunk of runs have exited the Qalandars line-up. The onus is on Fakhar Zaman, their other comparable big-hitter, to make up the deficit. He scored a half-century in his last outing, so is more than capable of doing that.

Likely XIs

Karachi Kings: Sharjeel Khan, Babar Azam (c), Iftikhar Ahmed, Cameron Delport, Chadwick Walton, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Usama Mir, Ali Khan, Waqas Maqsood, Umer Khan, Arshad Iqbal

Lahore Qalandars: Fakhar Zaman, Chris Lynn, Sohail Akhtar (c), Mohammad Hafeez, Ben Dunk (wk), David Wiese, Samit Patel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Raja Farzan, Dilbar Hussain

Prediction

Lahore to win.