KARACHI: The National Stadium will light up today to welcome cricket’s homecoming to Pakistan’s biggest city, as thousands of fans will flock to the sold-out National Stadium to witness two great teams face off for the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2018 trophy.
Neither of the teams is any stranger to the gold: Islamabad United, under the sure-footed leadership of Misbah, lifted the inaugural PSL trophy in 2016. Peshawar Zalmi, led by the charismatic Darren Sammy, were crowned the champions in 2017.
After beating Karachi Kings in the second eliminator on Wednesday, Peshawar Zalmi took their tally of overall wins to 19 — the most by any team in the PSL. But guess who’s right behind? Islamabad United, with 18 wins.
Sunday’s contest will truly be between the two best teams of PSL, and only the better team will win.
Peshawar Zalmi
Head coach: Mohammad Akram
Captain: Darren Sammy
Squad: Darren Sammy (c), Tamim Iqbal, Kamran Akmal, Andre Fletcher, Riki Wessels, Hammad Azam, Haris Sohail, Khushdil Shah, Umaid Asif, Saad Nasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Liam Dawson, Sameen Gul, Hasan Ali, Chris Jordan, Mohammad Asghar, Wahab Riaz
Islamabad United
Head coach: Dean Jones
Captain: JP Duminy (in absence of injured Misbah-ul-Haq)
Squad: JP Duminy (c), Alex Hales, Sam Billings, Mohammad Hasan, Chadwick Walton, Rohail Nazir, Luke Ronchi, Amad Butt, Hussain Talat, Samit Patel, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Samuel Badree, Steven Finn, Mohammad Sami, Zafar Gohar, Waqas Maqsood
Players to watch:
What you need to know
► Shuttle service begins, and stadium gates open, at 12pm
► Stadium gates close at 5pm
► Opening ceremony to take place around 6pm
► Match to start around 8pm
► Match expected to end around midnight
