Fantasy Picks: Luke Ronchi and Shoaib Malik are the in-form batsmen

March 7: PSL – Islamabad United v Peshawar Zalmi, Rawalpindi

Our XI: Kamran Akmal, Luke Ronchi, Colin Munro, Haider Ali, Lewis Gregory, Shadab Khan, Shoaib Malik, Yasir Shah, Wahab Riaz, Zafar Gohar, Dale Steyn

Captain: Luke Ronchi

Ronchi has regained his touch of late, scoring 133 runs in his last two innings to become the leading run-getter in PSL 2020. The last time he played in Rawalpindi, he hit 85 not out, his best in the tournament so far. He scores 65.28 of his runs in boundaries, suggesting he could get you good points.

Vice-captain: Shoaib Malik

The man in form, Malik has fifties in his last two innings and is looking good for plenty more runs. The two fifties he got were in Rawalpindi as well, giving him an aggregate of 122 at a strike rate of 148.78 at the venue.

Hot Picks

Colin Munro: Munro is a big pick given his form and the fact that there are no frontline offspinners in the Peshawar side – he strikes at 127.68 and has been dismissed 11 times by offspinners in T20s since 2018. Against other types of spinners, he has scored at a strike rate of 137.76 and against pace he has scored at 149.88 since 2018.

Shadab Khan: Shadab has had a fantastic PSL 2020; he is the only player to score more than 150 runs and pick up five or more wickets. His all-round form makes him a must-have.

Kamran Akmal: Kamran hasn’t scored too many runs in the last four games, but you just cannot leave him out, especially because he doubles up as wicketkeeper as well. He has the most 50+ scores at the venue since 2017 in T20s.

Value Picks

Lewis Gregory: Gregory has shown his ability to finish an innings on a few occasions now. He is batting at No. 6 for Peshawar and has scored 60 runs off 38 balls so far. He has a strike rate of 167.55 against pacers in all T20s, the third-highest amongst all batsmen with over 1000 runs in the format.

Zafar Gohar: The left-arm spinner impressed in his first game this season itself, with 3 for 31 in his four overs. His economy in the format is a healthy 7.48 and he has a strike rate of 15.9.

Points to note

• In Rawalpindi, the average score in the first-innings powerplay is 44 for 2, while the average first-innings total is 174, suggesting middle order is as important as the top order here (shortened games not considered).