The final week of the Pakistan Super League 2023 league stage saw a number of truly extraordinary matches and several records smashed. Rawalpindi was the venue for the avalanche of runs that just kept coming. Peshawar Zalmi incredibly were unable to defend two consecutive scores of 240+, while two Multan Sultans batters took turns in registering the fastest hundreds in PSL history.
Match-by-match mini reviews
Match 22 - Quetta Gladiators vs Karachi Kings
Quetta made a strong start to the game as Naseem Shah nicked off Matthew Wade with the first ball of the match. Tayyab Tahir couldn't quite get going and he holed out off Aimal Khan for just seven off 12.
Karachi found themselves 53-2 after the powerplay, with Adam Rossington doing the bulk of the scoring with 40* off 19. Aimal then removed Qasim Akram for eight and the Kings were 71-3 at halfway.
Shoaib Malik then failed to clear long-on and was dismissed for 13, while Rossington brought up his fifty off 32 balls. He eventually perished for 69 off 45 with Karachi 124-5 at the beginning of the 17th. Naseem then yorked James Fuller with a beauty as KK struggled to pick up momentum. That changed, though, with Aamer Yamin injecting some impetus with 23 from 11 along with the in-form skipper Imad Wasim (30* off 20) to reach 164-6.
Omair Yousuf went early for eight, before a brief bit of solidity ended when Mohammad Nawaz miscued one back to Musa Khan for 15 at 37-2 after five. Iftikhar Ahmed was trapped in front by Tabraiz Shamsi for just four as Karachi began to establish a stranglehold. That said stranglehold became stronger as Shamsi got a second with Najibullah Zadran picking out long-on for one. Then, a ball before the halfway mark Umar Akmal skied one off Fuller to leave Quetta 63-5.
Martin Guptill and Sarfaraz Ahmed began to set about rebuilding the innings but it was still an uphill battle with 64 needed from 26. Guptill brought his fifty up off 44 balls with 51 needed from 23. The New Zealand international ended up taking 24 from the 17th over bowled by Fuller, culminating in an enormous six to get the equation down to a considerably more manageable 33 from three overs.
That was soon whittled down and, with seven off five needed, Sarfaraz sacrificed himself as a mix up saw him run out for 29. Dwaine Pretorius then came in and cut away his first ball over point for four as he and the brilliant Guptill guided the Gladiators home to end their five match losing streak, taking the win by four wickets with a ball to spare.
Match 23 - Peshawar Zalmi vs Lahore Qalanders
A solid start was made by Peshawar, with the fifty brought up in 27 balls; the powerplay was full of classy strokes from Saim Ayub and skipper Babar Azam as Zalmi reached 67-0 in the first six. Saim then brought up a 26-ball fifty before he was caught behind off Rashid for 68 off 36; at that point Babar was 33 off 32 and in need of upping the ante. In-form Tom Kohler-Cadmore incredibly opened his innings with two sixes off Rashid Khan.
Babar finally brought up his fifty off 40 balls in the 16th over, despite PZ going at almost 11rpo,; he perished the next ball as he holed out to long-on. With Zalmi 171-3 after 16, Rovman Powell and Kohler-Cadmore (36 off 16) were dismissed in consecutive overs, before Shaheen Shah Afridi picked up Haseebullah Khan, Azmatullah Omarzai and Wahab Riaz in the 19th. The team hat-trick was then completed with Aamer Jamal gone first ball of the final over, before Zaman Khan cleaned up Arshad Iqbal as Peshawar were bowled out for 207; eight wickets fell in the last five overs.
In response, Shawaiz Irfan chopped on for a six-ball duck on debut, before Fakhar Zaman skied Wahab to deep square leg for run-a-ball 11. Then, Sam Billings fell after a failed scoop and was caught behind with Lahore 19-3 midway through the fifth. Abdullah Shafique miscued Omarzai to mid-off for seven off 12, with Powell taking a great catch as Lahore's chances reduced significantly.
A hundred partnership between Hussain Talat and Shaheen came up off 63 balls, with Talat's fifty coming off 32 balls, Shaheen then brought up his maiden PSL fifty in 34 balls before nicking one behind off Wahab (4-0-17-3) two balls later. Omarzai then cleaned up Sikandar Raza for 20 off 7 just as he was threatening to pull off a heist, before Talat then fell for 63 off 37 as Zalmi began to close in on a comprehensive win. Peshawar did indeed seal a win by 35 runs as Lahore were all out for 172 in what was a rare 20-wicket match.
Match 24 - Multan Sultans vs Islamabad United
A typically solid opening partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Shan Masood saw the fifty up midway through the sixth and the Sultans 57-0 through the powerplay. Immediately after, Rizwan nicked one behind off Shadab's first ball for 33 off just 18; that would ultimately lead to a wicket maiden from the Islamabad skipper.
With Multan 96-1 at halfway, Shadab again got the breakthrough with Rilee Rossouw gone for run-a-ball 15. Masood then brought up his fifty in 32 balls, before Tim David took Rumman Raees for four consecutive sixes in the 16th and 30 runs in total to get the scoreboard moving at pace. Masood then holed out to deep midwicket for 75 off 50 as David reached fifty in just 20 balls. The Australian then failed to fully get under a ball from Mohammad Wasim Jr and picked out Shadab at long-off for 60 off 27. A good comeback and final over from Wasim Jr ended with David Miller unable to clear the infield, with Colin Munro taking the catch as Multan finished 205-5.
Early on, Alex Hales was knocked over by a 97kph slower ball from Anwar Ali for just one off seven, before another slower one removed Rahmanullah Gurbaz for 25 off 14. Munro took 20 off the final over of the powerplay to leave Islamabad 54-2, before 16 came off the in-form Ihsanullah's first over. Leg-spinner Usama Mir then dismissed Munro for 40 off just 21 a ball after being pumped for six. Azam Khan then top edged Mir to Rizwan for just three off nine as the required rate began to grow.
Ihsanullah cleaned up Shadab with a full 150kph delivery for 44 from 25, before Asif Ali could only pick out Miller at long-off as United hopes had seemingly all but vanished. Ihsanullah picked up another with Mubasir Khan locating long-on as Miller pouched another. Faheem Ashraf, though, began to get stuck into the Multan bowling and boundaries were suddenly flowing, with Wasim Jr also beginning to get involved.
The Pakistani international duo managed to sensationally get the equation down to 21 off nine, but Wasim Jr was nailed with a full ball lbw for 16 off just seven to leave Islamabad eight down with 19 needed off seven. Faheem, though, then played two incredible shots, one for four in rather fortuitous fashion then a brilliant six, meaning just seven were needed from four balls. A fumble from Miller got Faheem back on strike with a two, before a great yorker was middled straight back down the ground by Faheem for four with Pollard unable to cut it off. An incredible innings from Faheem was capped off as he chipped the penultimate ball of the innings over Pollard at mid-off for four to end unbeaten on 51 from 26; Islamabad won what was an incredible match by two wickets with a ball to spare.
Match 25 - Peshawar Zalmi vs Quetta Gladiators
Again, the promotion of Saim to open with Babar paid off as the fifty came up in 5.1 overs. Babar was looking imperious while Saim was fortuitous at times as Zalmi reached 67-0 after the powerplay. Saim brought up back to back fifties with back to back sixes off Nawaz, reaching his half-century in 24 balls. Babar then brought up the hundred partnership in 58 balls and his fifty in 32 balls with a six straight down the ground, with Peshawar reaching 110-0 at halfway.
The 150 was then brought up in 76 balls, before a tame end to a brilliant innings from Saim as he picked out extra cover for 74 off just 34. By that time, Peshawar were in a very commanding position and were 177-1 with five to go. Babar finally brought up his first PSL hundred from 60 balls; he also brought up the 200 in 17.2 overs with a lovely cover drive for four. He was, though, run out off the first ball of the final over by the bowler Aimal for a brilliant 115 from 65. Powell's 35 from 18 helped Peshawar ultimately get to a huge 240-2.
Quetta needed a fast start and a fast start is what they got. It was, though, interrupted as Guptill skied Wahab for 21 off eight as the Gladiators reached 42-1 in 2.5. Jason Roy smashed his way to fifty in 22 balls to get Quetta to 88-1 in the powerplay; the hundred came up in just 6.5 overs. The hundred partnership between Roy and Will Smeed came up in 48 balls, before an unbelievable catch from Mohammad Haris removed Smeed for 26 from 22.
At 150-2 from 12, Quetta were in with a real chance as Roy brought up a quite incredible hundred from 44 balls. The 200 came up in 16 overs, leaving 'just' 40 needed from four. That did indeed turn out to be a simple equation, as Roy pumped one down the ground for six to finish an astonishing run chase. The England international ended 145 not out from 63 and Mohammad Hafeez a vital 41* from 19 as the Gladiators completed an eight-wicket win with ten balls to spare, in the process sealing the third highest chase of all-time in t20 cricket.
Match 26 - Lahore Qalanders vs Islamabad United
A poor start was made by Lahore as Shafique clipped one straight to Hales at short fine-leg off Fazalhaq Farooqi second ball. Fakhar was then dropped on just two at slip by Asif Ali, before the left-hander brought his fifty up in 24 balls; the hundred partnership between him and Kamran Ghulam was up in 57 balls. Fakhar was then dropped again on 71 by Hasan Ali at long-off, but Ghulam holed out off Wasim Jr to deep midwicket for 41 off 30.
Fakhar then went on to complete his hundred in just 50 balls, before he was removed for 115 from 57 via a good catch from Wasim Jr. Billings then went for 32 off 22 with a miscue to extra cover, before another six and out within the same over occurred as David Wiese was castled by Farooqi. A late cameo of 15 from five from Rashid Khan got Lahore up to 226-5.
An unusually scratchy innings from Gurbaz came to an end with a run-a-ball 15 after he holed out to deep midwicket after a buildup of dot balls from Zaman to start the over. Munro then edged behind for 11 from six off Zaman with Billings taking a good catch. Islamabad were 50-2 after powerplay which was not a strong platform for such a chase. Shadab skied Rashid to Billings for 12 before Islamabad fell further behind the extortionate rate, with Hales nicking behind off Wiese for 18. United's hopes were dashed further with the confirmation that Azam was unavailable after sustaining a finger injury behind the stumps.
Rashid then went through Mubasir as the writing on the wall began to get even larger, with United 75-5 at halfway. The main man from the last few matches, Faheem, was trapped in front by Rashid for four as Islamabad eventually finished 107-9 with Lahore winning by 119 runs. This meant that it was the first time in the PSL where one batter (Fakhar in this case) had scored more than the opposition.
Match 27 - Peshawar Zalmi vs Multan Sultans
Another fast start from Zalmi saw the fifty up in 4.4 overs as they reached 64-0 after the powerplay. Babar got to his fifty in just 24 balls, with the Peshawar hundred brought up midway through the ninth. Yet another fifty was brought up by Saim, this time off 30 balls, but he then holed out to long-on for 58 from 33 to end the opening partnership at 134. Shortly after, Babar nicked behind off Abbas Afridi for 73 off 39.
Haris struck three consecutive sixes to start the 14th, before Powell went for two with a full toss from Abbas that narrowly avoided being called a no-ball. Haris' cameo came to an end on 35 off just 11 balls after he picked out deep cover. Some late hitting from Kohler-Cadmore and Omarzai saw them share a 19-ball fifty partnership, before Kohler-Cadmore was removed via a brilliant boundary catch from Pollard for 38 off 18. The last over went for 22 as Anwar went for 66 in his four overs; Multan scored 60 in the last four as they got to an imposing 242-6.
The Sultans suffered an early blow as captain Rizwan went after he skied one off Arshad for just seven. Mujeeb uh-Rahman then cleaned up Masood for five from five, but Multan recovered to 66-2 after the powerplay. A fifty partnership between Rossouw and Pollard was achieved in 26 balls, with the former bringing up his fifty in just 17 balls - the joint fastest in PSL history. With the acceleration shown by the two overseas giants, Multan were soon 100-2 after eight overs.
Pollard then took three sixes off the first three balls of the ninth; at that point, 106 out of the 118 on the board had been scored in boundaries. The West Indies bruiser brought up his fifty up in 22 deliveries before Wahab bounced him out next over for 52 off 25. Omarzai then got the contextually big wicket of David as he chopped on for two. Rossouw, though, would not stop and he brought up an incredible hundred in just 41 balls with 60 needed from 29 - the then-fastest century in PSL history, as he beat his own record.
Khushdil Shah and then Rossouw fell in quick succession, with the latter gone with 16 needed from nine via a great catch at long-on by Kohler-Cadmore for an astonishing 121 from 51. Mir then eased any Multan nerves as he slashed one over point for six. Multan sealed the incredible win by four wickets with five balls to spare, meaning Peshawar had failed to defend 240+ for the second consecutive match.
Match 28 - Multan Sultans vs Quetta Gladiators
An electric start from Multan saw Usman Khan bring up his fifty in 22 balls in the middle of taking 27 off a Qais Ahmed over. The Sultans ended powerplay on a huge 91-0. Usman was seeing it like a football at this stage and he smashed Rossouw's one day old record, reverse sweeping Qais to bring up an unbelievable 36-ball hundred. With the Sultans incredibly 156-0 at halfway, Usman was eventually stumped off a wide from Nawaz next ball for a stunning 120 from 43 - the knock included 12 fours and nine sixes.
Rossouw then picked out extra cover for 15 off nine as Qais managed to get some sort of revenge on the Multan batters. Meanwhile, Rizwan had quietly reached his fifty off 26 balls, before the 200 was up off the first ball of the 15th. Rizwan then holed out for 55 from 29 to give Qais his second; the Afghan leg-spinner ended with 2-77 from his four. David (43 off 25) and Pollard (23 from 14) provided some late firepower to motor Multan up to a mammoth 262-5.
Roy went early for six, but the fifty was brought up in 3.5 overs as Quetta looked to make a fist of the chase. That was halted when Guptill got a feather through to Rizwan off Ihsanullah for 37 from 14 and Hafeez was caught at cover off Abbas for just one. Despite that, there was still a glimmer as they reached 75-3 after the powerplay. They could not continue to control the escalating required rate and were 105-3 at halfway.
Yousuf brought up his fifty in 26 balls before a 28-ball fifty was achieved by Iftikhar with 100 needed from 38, the hundred partnership in turn coming off 57 balls. Iftikhar, though, holed out to long-on off Abbas shortly after for 53 from 31 and, with 85 needed from five, Ihsanullah picked up Yousuf for 67 from 36. Nawaz then hammered Abbas straight to Pollard at long-off for 16 from seven before Umaid skied the next ball to the same location.
Abbas then got his five-for with the crucial wicket of the dangerous Umar Akmal for 28 from ten after he skied a full toss to David at long-off. Quetta ultimately ended on a very respectable 253-8 as Multan won a run-fest by nine runs. Indeed, a new world record for most runs in a t20 match was set in a quite spectacular display of hitting.
Match 29 - Islamabad United vs Peshawar Zalmi
Islamabad got off to a flying start as Farooqi went straight through the Saim as the in-form left-hander was dismissed third-baller. Zalmi did not let that setback distract them and they got to a strong 69-1 after the powerplay with Bhanuka Rajapaksa and Haris making strong starts. Haris brought up his fifty in 26 balls as the hundred was reached in 8.4 overs. Rajapaksa was then removed for 41 from 25 as he slog swept out to Munro at deep midwicket, before stand-in skipper Kohler-Cadmore picked out cover for 12 from five as he looked to accelerate.
Haris then chipped one to long-off for an impressive 79 from 39 off Shadab, before Jimmy Neesham sliced Hasan Ali down to third man with Peshawar finding themselves 139-5 at the start of the 14th. Haseebullah was then cleaned up with a great yorker from Wasim Jr for ten before Hasan Ali dismissed Jamal for nine as Zalmi wavered at 159-7 with 23 balls to go; Peshawar ultimately limped to 179-8, having been 116-1 at halfway.
In response, there was five-ball duck for Hassan Nawaz as he was picked up by Khurram Shehzad. The first two overs both started with five dots before the last ball went to the boundary. Sohaib Maqsood nicked behind off Jamal for 15 off six, before Hales failed to get one over Kohler-Cadmore at mid-off as he went for a run-a-ball 15 to leave United in bother, reaching 40-3 after the powerplay.
Their problems worsened when Munro sliced one out to deep cover and was promptly dismissed for 15 from 14. Another then fell after Shadab was unable to evade cover with Sufiyan Muqeem getting the big breakthrough with the United captain gone for 25 off 19 with Islamabad 100-5. With 69 needed off 31, Gurbaz smoked one to cover as Muqeem took a great catch to remove the Afghanistan batter for 33 from 24.
Asif Ali then skied one in the next over to leave Islamabad in a perilous position before Hasan Ali made things worse as he holed out to deep midwicket. Faheem threatened again to pull off the unthinkable and he incredibly managed to get the equation down to 23 from eight. Faheem and Wasim Jr combined for a 23-ball fifty partnership for the ninth wicket but, with 14 needed from four, Khurram yorked Faheem for 38 from 13 to all but seal the win for Zalmi. Khurram then ended on a hat-trick after another brilliant yorker dismissed Farooqi to complete a 13-run win for Peshawar.
Match 30 - Karachi Kings vs Lahore Qalanders
A couple of inside edges from Haider Ali sped away for four off inswingers from Dilbar Hussain, in for the rested Shaheen. They were followed by an outswinger that was promptly hit to cover by Haider, where he was caught by Ghulam for eight. The fifty, though, was brought up in just four overs and a fifty partnership between Mohammad Akhlaq and Tayyab was achieved in 26 balls with a big six over midwicket from Akhlaq off Haris Rauf.
With the Kings 68-1 after the powerplay, Tayyab miscued a scoop soon after to fine leg for 40 off 23 where Dilbar took the catch. Then, off the last ball of the same over, Qasim Akram poked one to extra cover for just two. Despite the setbacks, Karachi reached 103-3 at halfway, before a maiden PSL fifty was reached for Akhlaq in 34 balls. He skied Rauf two balls later with stand-in skipper Wiese taking the catch.
A partnership between Imad and Ben Cutting was up in 30 balls but, shortly after, Imad was bowled by Zaman for 45 off 31 as he missed a scoop. Cutting then took 16 from the first three balls of Rauf over in the 19th before he was nailed lbw for 33 off 14. Karachi ended 196-7, having scored 60 off the last five overs.
In response, Mohammad Umar removed main man Fakhar for 13 as he top edged one to Cutting at mid-on, before Shafique flicked Akif Javed straight to deep square leg for just two. Javed then removed Ghulam after he chopped on for 11 as another wicket fell in the powerplay, leaving Lahore 31-3 after the first six. Billings then nicked Fuller behind for 11 as the Lahore chase began to fall away, with the Qalanders 57-4 at halfway.
Wiese skied Imad to long-on for just two off seven before Tahir (4-0-24-2) got his first as Shane Dadswell was dismissed via a great catch by Irfan Niazi at long-off. The South African veteran then got another caught at long-off as Talat's effort ended on a run-a-ball 25. In a moment of concern, Rashid headed off a small while after being hit by a Fuller bouncer, likely as a precaution. Lahore ultimately finished on 110-9 as Karachi picked up a rare win by 87 runs.
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