Our Prediction
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Lahore Qalandars have a slight edge in terms of their rivalry against Multan Sultans over the least few seasons
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Multan Sultans have a well-balanced side that has seen a lot of success in the past few seasons with Rizwan and Shan Masood partnership at top.
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Lahore Qalandars have one of the most dangerous bowling lineups in PSL 2023 with Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi
PSL 2023 is back and we will have a repeat of last season's final to set us off. Lahore Qalandars, the defending champions will be taking on the Multan Sultans to start the season. Both these teams have been very consistent in the last couple of years in the Pakistan Super League but some team changes, injuries, and player unavailabilities could make this a tougher season for both of them.
Multan Sultans have got a balance right since last few seasons and also saw a lot of success in the recent times with Rizwan and Masood making a compatible opening pair at the top of the order. They have also fire power and depth in the Batting lineup with the liked pf Keiron pollard, David Miller and Khusdil Shah. Usama Mir is a young prospect for the side and can come out of the boxes for the Lahore Qalandars batter. Joshua Little and Shahnawaz Dhani will be the pacers to be backed upon. Akeal Hossein has also been quite successful in this form of cricket.
Lahore Qalandars are the Defending Champions and would feel confident facing as they were victorious in the last outing in PSL 2022 Final . Fakhar Zaman is arguably the best batsman for the side and also have some young talent in the likes of Abdullah Shafique and Kamran Ghulam. Sam Billings and Sikandar Raza would have the responsibility to hold the Middle order together as both of them are highly experienced in this form of Cricket.
When talking about the Bowling Department , no team seems closer to Lahore Qalandars as having presence of Two best pacers going around the world cricket i.e Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf. David Weise and Sikandar Raza are the all rounders team would banked upon . Zaman khan has also been impressive in the past season.
PITCH AND CONDITIONS
There is no rain forecast in Multan on match day. The temperatures will be quite comfortable to play in although dew might be a bit of a factor. The pitch in Multan is flat and good for batting. The average score at this venue is close to 170 but the PSL will be played in Multan after a gap of two years.
MS VS LQ TOSS PREDICTION
The team that wins the toss is likely to want to bat first.
