Peshawar Zalmi will lock horns with Karachi Kings in a crucial clash of the ongoing eighth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) on Wednesday (tomorrow).
The match will be played at the Pindi Cricket Stadium, which is all set to host its first match of the PSL 8.
Karachi are sitting in fourth place with four points in six matches, while Peshawar are currently placed fifth with four points in five games.
Both sides will be looking to secure a win to improve their chances of qualifying for the playoffs.
Karachi will be a more confident side as they thrashed league leaders Multan Sultans by 66 runs in their previous match at the National Bank Cricket in Karachi. Meanwhile, the Babar Azam-led Peshawar lost to defending champions Lahore Qalandars by 40 runs at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Imad Wasim's side finally clicked against Multan on Sunday. They made a few prominent changes, which paid off. Haider Ali was replaced by Tayyab Tahir, while Tabraiz Shamsi took Imran Tahir's place.
The two newcomers delivered for their side with Tayyab scoring a half-century and Shamsi claiming three wickets against Multan.
Karachi also got a boost in their batting lineup as English wicketkeeper-batter Adam Rossington joined the squad in Lahore last night.
But Karachi are likely to be without their main bowler Mohammad Amir, who sustained a groin injury against Multan Sultans on February 22.
The pacer didn't play the match against Multan Sultans in the second leg and might miss the Peshawar clash.
On the other hand, Peshawar couldn't chase the mammoth 241-run target against Lahore as they were restricted to 201 runs in 20 overs.
Despite the defeat, Peshawar had some good takeaways from the game as Tom Kohler-Cadmore and Saim Ayub again found their way back to scoring runs for the side.
After the departure of Mohammad Haris and Babar Azam, Saim and Cadmore put on a magnificent 91-run partnership off just 44 balls.
However, the Yellow Storm's power hitters, including Rovman Powell, James Neesham, and Bhanuka Rajapaksa, haven't delivered with the bat yet.
Peshawar will aim to make a comeback, while Karachi will eye to secure back-to-back wins after their dismal start to their PSL campaign.
Last encounter:
The last clash between Karachi and Peshawar ended in a close win for the latter as Khurram Shahzad defended 15 runs off the last over to secure a two-run over the home side in Karachi.
Head-to-Head:
Peshawar and Karachi have faced each other on 18 occasions with the former emerging victorious 13 times, meanwhile, the latter have won five matches.
Squads
Karachi Kings: Imad Wasim (c), Haider Ali, Andrew Tye, Mohammad Amir, Imran Tahir, Matthew Wade, Shoaib Malik, Aamer Yamin, James Fuller, Adam Rossington, Akif Javed, Mohammad Akhlaq (wk), Irfan Khan Niazi, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Umar, Sharjeel Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ben Cutting, Musa Khan, Faisal Akram
Peshawar Zalmi: Babar Azam (c), Rovman Powell, Wahab Riaz, Arshad Iqbal, Danish Aziz, Mohammad Haris (wk), Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Aamer Jamal, Saim Ayub, Salman Irshad, Haseebullah Khan, Khurram Shahzad, Richard Gleeson, Sufyan Muqeem, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Usman Qadir, Jimmy Neesham, Haris Sohail