PSL 2021: Arch-nemeses Karachi Kings, Lahore Qalandars come head to head today

• Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars come in from similar positions, having won two out of their first three encounters.
• Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars set for a highly-anticipated face-off in what marks the eleventh match of the PSL 2021.
• The arch-rivals have played a total of 11 matches, of which Karachi Kings won seven and Lahore only four
  

KARACHI: One of the PSL 2021's most highly-anticipated matches will be played later today — Sunday — between arch-rivals Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars at the metropolis' National Stadium in what marks the eleventh match of the cricket series' sixth season.

With both the Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars coming in from similar positions, having won two out of their first three encounters, the build-up to what's been dubbed the El Clásico of the PSL 2021 has been exciting to say the least.

Defending champions Karachi Kings, however, boast a slight edge over the Qalandars owing to their better net run rate (NRR) and victory in the PSL 2020's final match.

In total, the two arch-rivals have played 11 matches, of which Karachi Kings bagged seven and Lahore Qalandars secured merely four.

A day prior, Kings achieved a remarkable win over Multan Sultans when they convincingly chased 198 with seven balls to spare and ended up with high confidence.

On the other hand, Qalandars went down against the same opposition 24 hours before seeing Karachi crushing Multan as their batting could not post enough runs on the board.

Furthermore, Babar Azam seems to be a real threat for the opposition as he has learnt how to finish the game with an elegant touch — scoring 90 not out, his second successive fifty and 16th of his PSL career — and rung an alarm bell for the competing teams.

Still, it is important to note that the Qalandars started the PSL 2020 tremendously, showing better results since last year as opposed to their performance of the first four editions.