The eighth season of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) is in full swing after a thrilling start to season eight over the last three days.

After the face-offs in Multan and Karachi, Islamabad United will play its first match of the season later today (Thursday) against Karachi Kings at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.

While this is the first match for the Shadab Khan-led Islamabad, Karachi Kings will be looking to bounce back after a defeat in their opening game at the hands of Peshawar Zalmi.

“We went for depth in the batting during the draft and earlier in the retention of players. We got the players that we wanted in the draft. Hopefully, the team will do good in PSL 8,” Shadab told Geo News in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.

“We could have won the game had Shoaib [Malik] stayed till the end. It was the first game of the tournament and there were a lot of positives. I am happy with the bowling but we need to be a bit clever. The batters have to back themselves to play the big shots,” said Kings’ captain Imad Wasim after the loss against Zalmi.

Here are five stats that you need to know about the match between United and Kings.

Head-to-head

Islamabad United have locked horns with Karachi Kings 18 times in the past, with the former registering victories in 12 of those matches.

200 barrier

Both teams are yet to cross the 200-run mark despite facing each other on numerous occasions.

Lowest total

Islamabad United’s lowest total in PSL history came against Kings in 2017, when they were dismissed for only 82 runs in Sharjah.

Best economy rates in an innings

Former Islamabad pacer Mohammad Sami holds the record for the best economy rate, 2, for United in an inning after registering figures of 5-8 in four overs.

Most sixes in an innings

Opener Sharjeel Khan holds the record for the most number of sixes in an inning for Kings against United, with eight maximums in Karachi in 2021.

Squads

Islamabad United: Shadab Khan (c), Paul Stirling, Alex Hales, Sohaib Maqsood, Asif Ali, Rassie van der Dussen, Colin Munro, Hassan Nawaz, Moeen Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Mubasir Khan, Tom Curran, Mohammad Waseem Jr, Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Azam Khan (wk), Fazalhaq Farooqi, Zafar Gohar, Rumman Raees, Zeeshan Zameer, Hasan Ali, Abrar Ahmed, Tymal Mills, Gus Atkinson

Karachi Kings: Imad Wasim (c), Haider Ali, Andrew Tye, Mohammad Amir, Imran Tahir, Matthew Wade, Shoaib Malik, Aamer Yamin, James Fuller, James Vince, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Akhlaq (wk), Irfan Khan Niazi, Qasim Akram, Mohammad Umar, Sharjeel Khan, Tayyab Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ben Cutting, Musa Khan, Faisal Akram