PSL 2021 final: All you need to know about Multan Sultans v Peshawar Zalmi, including form guide, key match ups and how to watch

The Pakistan Super League season reaches its conclusion on Thursday at Zayed Cricket Stadium

Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi will contest the 2021 PSL final at Zayed Cricket stadium. Courtesy PCB

The 2021 Pakistan Super League finally reaches its conclusion on Thursday when Multan Sultans take on Peshawar Zalmi at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Initially suspended in March as a response to the pandemic, the PSL relocated to the UAE capital earlier this month to complete the remaining 20 matches of the season.

With one game to go, here is all you need to know ahead of the final.

How to watch on TV

The match will be broadcast on the Etisalat eLife package in the UAE.

Likely starting XIs

Multan Sultans: 1 Shan Masood, 2 Mohammed Rizwan, 3 Sohaib Maqsood, 4 Rilee Rossouw, 5 Johnson Charles, 6 Khushdil Shah, 7 Sohail Tanvir, 8 Imran Tahir, 9 Blessing Muzarabani, 10 Imran Khan, 11 Shahnawaz Dahani

Peshawar Zalmi: 1 Kamran Akmal, 2 Hazratullah Zazai, 3 Jonathan Wells, 4 Shoaib Malik, 5 Rovman Powell, 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Ammad Butt, 8 Wahab Riaz, 9 Umaid Asif, 10 Mohammed Irfan, 11 Mohammed Imran

Form

Multan Sultans: WWWWWW

Peshawar Zalmi: WWLWLW

How they finished in the points table

Team     M  W  L  Pts  NRR

1 Islamabad United 10 8 2 16 0.859

2 Multan Sultans  10 5 5 10 1.050

3 Peshawar Zalmi  10 5 5 10 0.586

4 Karachi Kings  10 5 5 10 -0.115

5 Lahore Qalandars  10 5 5 10 -0.589

6 Quetta Gladiators  10 2 8 4 -1.786

Key match-ups

Mohammed Rizwan v Wahab Riaz

The final pits together two captains who have plenty to keep them busy besides tactics. Rizwan has excelled with the bat and gloves this tournament, and overseen a late-season charge to the big match.

His opposite number, Wahab, has been fairly pricey with the ball, but has got crucial wickets. His haul of 18 in the competition is second only to Multan’s Shahnawaz Dahani.

If Wahab can knock over his opposite number cheaply, it could go a long way to deciding the winners.

Blessing Muzarabani v Hazratullah Zazai

Hazratullah has been player of the match in three of his four PSL matches, but has yet to go up against the Multan bowlers.

His excellence in UAE conditions dates back years, to that time when he hit six sixes in an over in an Afghanistan Premier League match in Sharjah.

It suggests he thrives on low-bouncing wickets, so Multan might consider throwing the ball to their towering Zimbabwean seamer Muzarabani, and see if he can extract some jarring bounce.

Sohaib Maqsood v Mohammed Irfan

Few players have hit the ball as crisply as Maqsood has managed since the tournament decamped to Abu Dhabi.

Whether left-arm fast bowler Irfan can recover fitness before the final remains to be seen.

He looked in all sorts of agony when he received treatment for a calf injury in Monday’s final eliminator, although it was later described as merely cramp.

If he does take his place in the XI, he might be key to stemming Maqsood’s free-scoring, much of which has come from the power of his driving.