Pakistan T20 League 2023

Match 1: MUL vs LAH

Preview

The eighth edition of the Pakistan T20 League 2023 will kick off with Multan and Lahore on Monday, 13th February at 08:30 PM IST. This match is scheduled to take place at Multan International Cricket Stadium, Multan.

The last year's runner-up Multan would be up against the defending champions, Lahore, in the 1st game of the Pakistan T20 League 2023. MUL would be looking to avenge the loss in the final last year, where the LAH denied them a well-deserved title by scoring 180 runs in the final and defeating MUL by 42 runs. MUL and LAH both have retained key players for the last season, and we expect a tight contest between two of the best teams on the opening match day on Monday.  

MUL won the last four out of six games played between the two sides and this will give them confidence as they will LUH at home. Multan had lost only twice in the 12 games in the last edition of the PAK T20 League, and the players gelled well together. Lahore won’t make it easy as they defend their title.

The experienced opening wicket-keeper batter and the skipper of MUL, Mohammad Rizwan would like to get over the disappointment of the last season, where they had a bad day in the final against LAH. The 30-year-old skipper likes leading from the front and will look to do the same in this game. The 2021 champion Multan has a power-packed batting line-up, and Rizwan's side would like to make a positive start in this game.   

Both the batters, Rizwan and Shan Masood had a great tournament last year with the bat, and they will look to start from where they had left off. The middle order is formidable for the Multan, and they would expect runs from Tim David, Rilee Rossouw, and Khushdil Shah. The Windies' hard-hitter of the ball Kieron Pollard adds firepower to the batting and will look to add quick runs with Mohammad Sarwar.  

The 27-year-old right-handed batter Amad Butt is an exciting prospect for the side, and he must strike early in this game, sharing the new ball with Irish star bowler Joshua Little, who comes with good form. 24-year-old Pakistani batter Shahnawaz Dhani has done well for the team, and Dhani will look to bowl tight spells alongside Sameen Gul. They will also expect good performances in the supporting role from Pollard, Tim David, and Khushdil Shah.

The newly married star left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi will look to make a perfect start as Lahore defend its title. They are up against the strongest side in the tournament, Multan. Lahore will need a good show from the players in the opening encounter. The left-arm bowler Afridi would like his bowlers to be on the money as their opponents have a strong batting line-up.  

The left-handed top-order batter Fakhar Zaman did well last season in this league, and Zaman will look to deliver a good partnership opening the batting with Abdullah Shafique. The 22-year-old Jordan Cox comes into the team, and he must build partnerships in the middle order with Zimbabwean all-rounder Sikandar Raza and Hussain Talat. They also have Liam Dawson and Rashid Khan add to the side’s batting strength down the order.  

Their bowling attack is as good as any other Pakistani T20 league, and they will expect good spells from Afridi and Ahmed Daniyal with the new ball. Afghan's most experienced bowler Rashid Khan will have to play a key role here, and the side will like to see him trouble the opponents. Zaman Khan, Dawson, and Raza will look to bowl well in the supporting role. 

Match Details

Match: MUL vs LAH, 1st Match, Pakistan T20 League 2023

Date: Monday, 13 February

Time: 08:30 PM

Venue: Multan International Cricket Stadium, Multan

Pitch & Weather Report

This venue is a slow surface, and batters who adjust to the pace of the wicket do well at this venue. It is a graveyard for the fast bowlers as the wicket doesn’t offer them much. Spinners get good rewards from the surface as the ball occasionally stops on the batters. It will be clear skies over on the 1st match day between MUL vs LAH, and it will be a warm and comfortable evening. The surface will be slow, and batsmen must watch their back on this track.

The side batting first in this game shall be happy to have 160-170 runs on the board keeping this track in mind. The track at Multan International Cricket Stadium is known for being slow, and setting up totals here has never been easy. Most teams in the past have won games here chasing the score. Hence, the side winning the toss here shall look to bowl first in this game.

The maximum temperature will remain at 23°C, with a low of 09°C with 29% humidity, and a wind speed of 18 Km/hr for the 01st Match, the Pakistan T20 League 2023 on Feb 13 b/w MUL vs LAH. The weather in Multan during the game will be cool and pleasant on this match day.

MUL vs LAH Squad:

MUL: David Miller, Shan Masood, Rilee Rossouw, Usama Mir, Khushdil Shah, Sameen Gul, Mohammad Rizwan(c), Anwar Ali, Tim David, Joshua Little, Akeal, Hosein, Shahnawaz Dahani, Abbas Afridi, Usman Khan, Muhammad Sarwar, Ihsanullah, Arafat Minhas, Wayne Parnell, Izharulhaq Naveed, Kieron Pollard, Amad Butt.

LAH: Fakhar Zaman, Rashid Khan, Liam Dawson, Shaheen Afridi, David Wiese, Sikandar Raza, Hussain Talat, Jordan Cox, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Jalat Khan, Abdullah Shafique, Dilbar Hussain, Ahmed Daniyal, Zaman Khan, Shawaiz Irfan, Tahir Baig, Sam Billings, Kusal Mendis, Shane Dadswell, Ahsan Bhatti

MUL vs LAH: Probable XIs

MUL: Mohammad Rizwan (c & wk), Shan Masood, Rilee Rossouw, Khushdil Shah, Kieron Pollard, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Sarwar, Joshua Little, Sameen Gul, Tim David, Amad Butt

LAH: Shaheen Afridi (c), Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Jordan Cox (wk), Rashid Khan, Zaman Khan, Hussain Talat, Sikandar Raza, Ahmed Daniyal, Haris Rauf, Liam Dawson

Match Prediction

We expect defending champions Lahore to start their campaign over Multan on Monday with a win. LAH has many new players in their batting line-up, and it will be interesting to see how these players team up. Their bowling is strong, but they must be on the money against a strong batting side. However, MUL is a powerhouse with the bat and has depth in their bowling. It will be a close contest, but Lahore will be having the upper hand in this match after that final victory.

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