Pakistan Super League Tips Matches 10 and 11: United value for fourth win

• Trend for chaser to flop

• United surprisingly big

• Double-header for Kings

• Samad eyecatching at 16s

• Babar in a hole

Karachi Kings v Islamabad United
Sunday 20 April, 16:00
TV: live on Sky Sports

Karachi Kings v Islamabad United PSLT20 tips

Ten matches into the PSL and there is a noticeable toss bias. Seven games have been won by the side batting first. Two of those (from three) have come in Karachi, the venue for this clash, and the rest at Rawalpindi.

It could be as simple as scoreboard pressure on flat wickets. The first-innings scores have proved insurmountable and the chaser has wilted under the rate requirements. There is also a noticeable lack of batting depth in PSL.

Kings folded cheaply against Lahore in the face of a target of 201. They managed only 136 with a Nos 7-8-9 of Arafat Minhas, Abbas Afridi and Hasan Ali. It is worth remembering this is proper 11-a-side cricket, not the 12-player nonsense in IPL where teams come back from the dead as if it were Easter every weekend.

Last time out Kings were on the right side of the toss, even managing to defend 176 against Quetta. Mohammad Amir was three runs from top scoring for QG down at No 9. The market has been on Kings before a ball was bowled and they are 2.1411/10 against an Islamabad team which is undefeated.

It is surprising to see United as big. They have hammered Multan, Zalmi and Lahore. And all this without picking their best XI. It is slightly odd that the likes of Matt Short and Alex Carey are available and yet they go with Andries Gous in the top slot. Surely one of the Aussies plays here.  United are still waiting on the arrival of Rassie van der Dussen, who has been delayed due to personal reasons.

David Warner is 11/43.75 with the Sportsbook for top bat win, but his head-to-head against Riley Meredith and Jason Holder is poor so we will take a risk and skip this one. if he wins, we curse ourselves of course but it would be remiss to get involved considering the data.

Karachi Kings v Peshawar Zalmi
Monday 21 April, 16:00
TV: live on Sky Sports

Karachi Kings v Peshawar Zalmi PSLT20 tips

The big news with Zalmi is the dreadful run of form Babar Azam, which has come at the worst possible time for punters. Babar started the season with a better than even money record on top bat but hasn't even worked up a sweat in the three matches so far. 

Babar has recorded scores of 0, 1 and 2. And it may be time to call a halt on wagering him. His PSL form is, of course, usually sensational but there is a dip in his general play which is now alarming. Six of his last 15 T20 innings have been single figure scores and it is worth waiting to see if he can lay bat on ball before considering him as a bet.

At this stage last season we were consistently backing Fakhar Zaman to produce a score with a strong record on win rate. But he had a stinker and sometimes it is worth recognising that a batter is out of touch.

With Babar seemingly out of the equation we note that Abdul Samad is 16s for top Zalmi bat. That is a bet which catches the eye because of his superb hitting ability and with traffic beginning to build on this Karachi track, a lower-order winner could come into play. Samad smashed 40 from 14 balls in the win over Sultans. 

Now read more Cricket tips and previews here!