KARACHI: Islamabad United, champions of Pakistan Super League (PSL) first edition, will clash with Peshawar Zalmi, winners of PSL second edition, in Karachi National Stadium to win the trophy of the third edition on Sunday.
The National Stadium will light up after nine years to welcome thousands of fans to watch the battle of champions between two great teams of PSL 2018.
After beating Karachi Kings in the second eliminator, Peshawar Zalmi became the team with most wins,19, in PSL and Islamabad United is right behind them with 18 wins.
The Sunday final will surely between two champion teams and the better side will win.
Karachi Stadium last hosted an international game in 2009 when Pakistan played a test match against Sri Lanka. The stadium remained largely isolated, except domestic matches. The stadium was put together for the PSL final, although it is still under renovation, the facility, however, was prepared enough for this match.
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Despite the security threat, both teams have managed to retain the services of most of their foreign players. This was a stark contrast to last year when all of the foreign players of Quetta Gladiators refused to come to Pakistan for the final.
Meanwhile, Misbahul Haq, who missed the qualifier due to the hairline fracture, will also miss the final. Both teams are likely to keep their winning combinations of the qualifiers.
Islamabad United (expected): 1 Luke Ronchi (wk), 2 Sahibzada Farhan, 3 JP Duminy (capt), 4 Hussain Talat, 5 Samit Patel, 6 Asif Ali, 7 Chadwick Walton/Samuel Badree, 8 Shadab Khan, 9 Faheem Ashraf, 10 Mohammad Sami, 11 Amad Butt
Peshawar Zalmi (expected): 1 Kamran Akmal (wk), 2 Andre Fletcher, 3 Mohammad Hafeez, 4 Saad Nasim, 5 Liam Dawson, 6 Darren Sammy (capt), 7 Chris Jordan, 8 Hasan Ali, 9 Wahab Riaz, 10 Umaid Asif, 11 Sameen Gul