Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings PSL Tips: 10/3 top-bat boost must be taken

• Lahore as big as 1.9210/11

• Pitch looking slow

• Fakhar boosted to 10/34.33

Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings
Saturday 24 February, 14.00
TV: Live on Sky743

Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings team news

Lahore, the holders, have reached crisis point as quickly as possible. Three defeats from three mean they are likely to have to win five from seven to make the play-offs. They are beginning to find out how important Rashid Khan was. George Linde is not like-for-like but is more than competent. They should be doing better.

Probable XI: Farha, Fakhar, van der Dussen, Raza, Jahandad, Shafique, Brathwaite, Linde, Afridi, Rauf, Zaman

Kings beat Zalmi last time out after defeat in their opener. Lahore's disastrous start has given them renewed hope of a play-off spot. It's not a great squad, heavily reliant on James Vince, Kieron Pollard and Shoaib Malik. Mohammad Nawaz is one of only two left-handers in the probable top six so is always a viable promotion option.

Possible XI: Masood, Akhlaq, Vince, Shoaib, Pollard, Nawaz, Irfan, Sams, Hasan, Shamsi, Hamza

Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings pitch report

Four of the five matches at Lahore have been won by the chaser busting a massive bat-first toss bias. The reason is probably due to the wicket not being as flat as previously. We saw traditional big runs in the first two matches but there has been a drop since.

It's always wise to beware of recency bias but Islamabad's struggle to 138 against Quetta, who made hard work of the chase, was on a stodgy-looking surface. Shorting low 170s is an option.

Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings match odds

Lahore, historically strong, seem to have a mental block when it comes to playing Karachi. They have lost six of the last nine.

So although odds of 1.9210/11 about the hosts will have appeal, caution is advised. Not least because their much-vaunted pace attack, led by Shaheen Afridi, has not clicked.

And on a slower surface, they may need to recognise that 10-12 overs from Sikandar Raza, Carlos Brathwaite and George Linde may be more useful.

If they can switch on to the change then they might be worth a follow. We do have doubts about Kings' longevity in the tournament.

Lahore Qalandars v Karachi Kings player bets

Fakhar Zaman is overdue a win. On two-year form, including this tournament, his success rate is 32%. So we have to keep faith with Sportsbook's boosted 10/34.33. For Karachi we note the 12s about Nawaz because of that early-mentioned note about batting up the order.

Read Ed's cricket tips here.