Who will win Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi PSL 1st match?

The opening match of the Pakistan Super League 2017 will see defending champions Islamabad United take on Peshawar Zalmi on February 9.
Dubai International Cricket Stadium will be the setting for this fixture and live action is scheduled to start at 8 PM local time.

Toss

The side that has fielded first has won three of the last four T20 matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. So whichever team wins the toss on Thursday will probably look to bowl first. Islamabad United batted second in six matches last season and they emerged victors in five of them, making them a very good bet for this match if they bat second.

Islamabad United

Team News

England fast bowler Steven Finn has replaced West Indian allrounder Andre Russell in the squad who has been banned from cricket for one year by an anti-doping panel. Ben Duckett and Dwayne Smith have been included in the team for this year’s PSL.

Key Players

Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif will be the key members in Islamabad United’s batting lineup. Sharjeel scored the most runs and played a big role in winning the inaugural edition for his team last year. Mohammad Sami was the leading wicket-taker with 12 wickets and we predict the seamer to be their best bowler in this match. Allrounder Shane Watson is another player who can make good contributions with both the bat and the ball.

Recent Form

Islamabad United, after a shaky start last season with just two wins from their first six matches, made a strong comeback to finish third in the standings at the end of the league round. They have won their last five matches in a row including the final in which they beat Quetta Gladiators quite comfortably.

Squad

Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Amad Butt, Asif Ali, Samuel Badree, Sam Billings, Ben Duckett, Steven Finn, Brad Haddin, Hussain Talat, Imran Khalid, Khalid Latif, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami, Rumman Raees, Saeed Ajmal, Shadab Khan, Sharjeel Khan, Dwayne Smith, Shane Watson, Zohaib Khan

Islamabad United Playing 11

Sharjeel Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq (c), Khalid Latif, Shane Watson, Dwayne Smith, Steven Finn, Brad Haddin (wk), Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Mohammad Sami, Samuel Badree.

Peshawar Zalmi

Team News

Peshawar Zalmi will miss the services of two Bangladeshi players, batsman Tamim Iqbal and allrounder Shakib Al Hasan, in this match who will be on national duty to play a one-off test match against India. Darren Sammy will be leading the side in place of Shahid Afridi.

Key Players

Their batting will depend mostly on how well Mohammad Hafeez and Eoin Morgan perform. Both are attacking batsmen and have a good record in T20 cricket. Morgan had a good tour of India and we predict him to top-score for Peshawar Zalmi in this match. Wahab Riaz is one bowler in their side who Islamabad United will be wary of. The seamer took 15 wickets last year to finish as the second-best bowler of the season.

Recent Form

Peshawar Zalmi made a fantastic start to their campaign last year, winning four of their first five matches. With six wins from eight league games, they finished as the first ranked team on the points table ahead of Quetta Gladiators on account of better net run-rate. However, they lost both the qualifiers after that which resulted in their exit from the competition.

Squad

Darren Sammy (c), Tillakaratne Dilshan, Andre Fletcher, Haris Sohail, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imran Khan, Chris Jordan, Junaid Khan, Kamran Akmal, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Mohammad Hafeez, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Marlon Samuels, Shahid Afridi, Shakib Al Hasan, Sohaib Maqsood, Tamim Iqbal, Wahab Riaz

Peshawar Zalmi Playing 11

Kamran Akmal (wk), Mohammad Hafeez, Darren Sammy (c), Shahid Afridi, Wahab Riaz, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Asghar, Eoin Morgan, Chris Jordan, Marlon Samuels, Iftikhar Ahmed.

Our Prediction

Peshawar Zalmi

Will Win the Match

Peshawar Zalmi

Will Win the Toss

Else Where

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Match – Islamabad United

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Match – Peshawar Zalmi

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Match – Islamabad United

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Match – Islamabad United

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Match – Peshawar Zalmi

Whowillwin

Match – Islamabad United

Cricfrog

Match – Peshawar Zalmi