Karachi Kings disappoint again against Quetta gladiators

 

Karachi Kings let go of a easy win against Quetta Gladiators to falter by 5 runs. Karachi kings having restricted Quetta gladiators to 142 runs should have won when they needed 60 runs off 60 balls with 8 wickets remaining in their innings.  Instead they collapsed spectacularly to lose by 5 runs damaging their chances of reaching Playoffs.

Karachi Kings shouldnt waste opportunities like this to win otherwise it will be very difficult for them to progress in this tournament. All the other teams with the exception of Multan Sultan look like they are in contention of the playoffs. Hassan Ali looks like the lone fighter with both bat and ball in the Karachi team with the rest of the Karachi kings team looking vulnerable to losing matches. 

In the end what i would like to say is that Karachi kings team lack killers instinct and they do not know how to finish games within their grasp. 

Islamabad United unbeaten run in PSL 2025 continues

 

Islamabad United appear as a very strong team in PSL 2025 and look like they will clinch the trophy this year also. Islamabad United have won the PSL most number of times that is thrice and are looking favourites to win the PSL for a fourth time. Islamabad team hardly has any weakness as they are outclassing the opposition in every department of the game. 

In batting Sahibzada Farhan is in the form of his life and is striking the ball to all parts of the ground. Then they have the inform Shadab Khan, Azam Khan and Salman Ali Agha in their batting line up. In bowling they have the pace of Jason Holder and Naseem Shah and the spin of Shadab Khan and Imad Wasim. Hence they look like a flawless team to me. 

In the end what I would like to say is that it will need something exceptional and special for the teams participating in PSL to beat this Islamabad team.

PSL vs IPL

 

the Indian Premier League although is much bigger and richer than PSL lacks quality and top class cricket that PSL provides. IPL although provides as much entertainment as PSL and is equally attractive and has the same atmosphere as PSL. IPL can be a bit of a drag and becomes boring after a few matches. On the otherhand PSL matches are more exciting, interesting and there are more closer games in PSL than IPL.

The quality of cricket especially in bowling and fielding is much better in PSL than in IPL. The local talent in bowling in PSL is also much better in PSL than in IPL. PSL bowlers are tougher, more accurate and more fast than IPL bowlers. So if Pakistan are to find any bowlers especially in fast bowling the selectors should witness PSL matches.  There are also more catches dropped in IPL than PSL.

In the end what I would like to say that Pakistani bowlers especially fast bowlers are more talented than Indian bowlers as can be seen by Peshawar Zalmi's talented bowler Ali Raza who is an emerging talent.

Muhammad Rizwan as Captain

 

I think Muhammad Rizwan should be replaced as captain of white ball teams by Shan Masood. Muhammad Rizwan although made a promising start to captaincy with ODI series wins over Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa but his captaincy ever since has faded away. 

Muhammad Rizwan is found wanting and unimaginative as he doesnt come up with a strategy to overcome Pakistani death overs bowling problem. We are conceding too many runs in the last fifteen overs of an ODI that's why we are losing so many ODI's of late. His field placements and bowling changes needs a lot of improvement. Also his selection of the final playing 11 needs a lot to be desired. 

In the end what I would like to say is that make Shan Masood as captain of all formats of the game and that decision will take a lot of pressure out of Muhammad Rizwan both as wicket keeper and a batsman.

my favourite PSL team

 

my favourite PSL team has always been the Karachi Kings right from PSL s inception from 2016 onwards. Karachi Kings have won the PSL just once before and I am hoping Karachi win this years PSL too. Karachi kings won the 2020 PSL title after defeating Lahore Qalandars in the final. Lahore Qalandars are Karachi Kings arch rivals and Karachi kings won most of the matches against them in PSL. 

Karachi Kings this year have a good all round team. In batting they have one of the best openers in David Warner and Tim Seifert. In their middle order they have the inform James Vince. and Khushdil Shah who seems to bat like Micheal Bevan used to do for Australia. In bowling they have Hassan Ali who is bowling superbly in this year's PSL and not to forget the kiwi pacer Adam Milne.

In the end what i would like to say is that Karachi Kings will In Sha Allah make it to the playoffs in this year's PSL if not winning the title.

Pakistan vs New Zealand 2025 3rd ODI

 

Pakistan lost the ODI series 3-0 to New Zealand by losing the third ODI by 43 runs. As compared to previous two matches this ODI was a closely fought one. Infact Pakistan lost all matches on tour because of their expensive bowling and that put too much pressure on their batting. 

Having said that even with the experienced duo in their batting of ODIs on this tour that is Babar Azam and Muhammad Rizwan, our twenty20 team played infact better cricket than our ODI team and were more successful than our ODI side by winning atleast one match. Babar Azam was the main stay in our batting of ODIs as we witnessed in the first ODI and Third ODI our batting collapsed whenever Babar Azam was dismissed.

In the end what I would like to say is that we atleast didnt have a winless tour as we won just one Twenty20 match in the entire tour.

Pakistan vs New Zealand 2025 2nd ODI

 

 

Pakistan were outclassed by 84 runs in the 2nd ODI by New Zealand. Pakistan are clearly missing the services of Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub and their batting is nothing without them. When Pakistan's tailenders can recover Pakistan from 32 for 5 to 208 all out then our top order batsmen should have performed a lot better. 

This wasnt a 292 run pitch and the Pakistani bowlers after having New Zealand at 170 for 5 at one stage should have restricted New Zealand to a much lower total. Pakistan also had better of the bowling conditions but they didnt take advantage of it. Our bowling has proved to be expensive in every match of the tour so far and there seems to be no respite from it. 

In the end what I would like to say that Pakistan will do well if they can avoid being whitewashed 3-0 in the ODI series.