It’s been a disappointing start to the Pakistan Super League season for Karachi Kings, whose batting has failed twice after a promising showing in their opener, failing to chase down two middling targets in their last two games.
Chief among their woes is the form of Babar Azam, meant to be the star player in this line-up. Azam began the season with an unbeaten 77 off 59, but since then he’s had a slow-go innings of 28 off 38 against Lahore Qalandars – admittedly in the face of a rampant bowling attack – before being run out in his last outing. So far, from a batting perspective, it seems that as Azam goes, so go the Kings.
That form has been mirrored, to an extent, by Karachi’s premier bowler. Though Mohammad Amir has been economical in all three matches so far, and taken at least one wicket each time, he’s yet to replicate a performance like the one he produced in the opener, when he took four wickets. Sides have gotten cautious against his bowling, reducing his wicket-taking potency – but that’s a conundrum he needs to solve, quickly.
Karachi have more than just their two star Pakistanis, of course, with the likes of Ben Dunk, Colin Ingram, and captain Imad Wasim. But there is a risk that they’re too reliant on Azam and Amir. This match should give them a chance to turn that perception around.
Speaking of turning around form, Islamabad United got a welcome win in their last match, surviving a late Peshawar Zalmi onslaught on Friday to end a run of two straight losses. But their own batting form is leaving a lot to be desired, with scores of 158/9, 157/8, and 125/7 in their last three games after they chased down 176 with relative ease in their opener.
Luke Ronchi and Asif Ali are the only batsmen to show any sort of consistency, with Ronchi having gotten good starts in three of his innings and Ali compiling a similar record as a lower-order blaster. Ian Bell came in for Friday’s match and duly scored a calm, composed 50, and if he can maintain that form Islamabad will have another top-order player alongside Ronchi they can rely on.
But Hussain Talat, Cameron Delport, and whoever is chosen to partner Ronchi at the start of the innings – Sahibzada Farhan came in for Rizwan Hussain against Peshawar but to no avail – need to start firing on a regular basis.
LIKELY TEAMS
Karachi Kings: Mohammed Rizwan (wk), Babar Azam, Brendan Dunk, Colin Ingram, Colin Munro, Sikandar Raza, Imad Wasim (c), Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Amir, Umer Khan, Usman Shinwari
Islamabad United: Luke Ronchi, Sahibzada Farhan, Ian Bell, Hussain Talat, Cameron Delport, Asif Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Shadab Khan, Samit Patel, Mohammad Sami (c), Muhammad Musa
Match starts 20:00 UAE time