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The league stage of the Pakistan Super League is done and dusted and the focus now shifts to the knockout stages with the table-toppers Lahore Qalandars taking on Multan Sultans in the Qualifier in Lahore. The Lahore-based outfit got the better of their opponents on both occasions in the group stages.
The two teams had also clashed in last year’s final, with Lahore Qalandars winning in the summit clash. However, Multan Sultans will take heart from the fact that the defending champions were beaten comprehensively in their last outing and can be vanquished in the upcoming fixture. Shaheen Afridi’s side will be keen on making the final for the second year in a row.
Mohammad Rizwan (Multan Sultans)
The 30-year-old Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter is the leading run-scorer of the tournament with 483 runs to his name and has been an integral part of Multan Sultans’ success in the tournament so far. He is one of the most in-form batters in the tournament and is heading into the crucial fixture with a swashbuckling half-century against the Quetta Gladiators in a high-scoring affair in Rawalpindi.
Rashid Khan (Lahore Qalandars)
It is hard to keep Rashid Khan out of the contest in the shortest format of the game, and the global T20 superstar has lived up to his reputation despite being a late arrival to the tournament. With 15 scalps to his name in just eight outings the magical spinner is the third leading wicket-taker of the tournament. Although he had an off-colour outing against the Karachi Kings in the last encounter, Multan Sultans won’t make the mistake of taking the Afghan lightly.
Usman Khan (Multan Sultans)
The 27-year-old Pakistani opener sent record books tumbling after smashing a mind-boggling century off just 36 deliveries, the fastest in the history of the competition, against Quetta Gladiators. The Karachi-born cricketer will be looking to replicate his previous performance when they take on table-toppers Lahore Qalandars in the first knockout game of this year’s tournament.
