PSL 2023: Week 1 By the Numbers

PSL 2023: Week 1 By the Numbers

Multan Sultans were the side to watch in the first week of PSL 2023.

After losing their first game by one run, last season’s beaten finalists won their next three games consecutively.

Multan sit atop the PSL points table after the first week with six points. Their mirror are the Karachi Kings – one win and three defeats from their four games.

With three thumping wins on the trot, Multan are very much the team to beat this season.

Meanwhile, Peshawar Zalmi have two wins in three and are second behind Multan. Quetta Gladiators have also played three times.

With Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars playing twice each, here’s how each team went in the opening week of PSL 2023, by the numbers.

Multan Sultans

With 12 wickets in four games, fast bowler Ihsanullah is the story of PSL 2023 so far.

The highlight was his 5-12 against Quetta Gladiators, the seventh best bowling performance in PSL history. This season, 53.19 of his deliveries have yielded no runs.

Those dozen poles comfortably make Ihsanullah the highest wicket taker in PSL 2023 and thus the current holder of the Fazal Mahmood cap.

In fact, Multan have the top three wicket takers in PSL 8 so far, counting Abbas Afridi and Usama Mir (eight wickets each). Between them, the trio have 28 wickets.

There’s an argument that Islamabad aren’t making best use of their resources by giving their form batter the full run of the powerplay.

Leg spinner Usama Mir’s form is especially encouraging.

His economy through the middle overs this season is 6.31 – a tick over his overall mark of 6.18, his lowest ever in the PSL and a significant improvement on three 8+ figures in each of his last three PSL campaigns.

Ihsanullah’s early incision has enabled Multan’s main spinner to thrive. He will be a key figure in the team’s PSL title challenge.

With three thumping wins on the trot and a run rate of +2.107, Multan are very much the team to beat this season.

Also read: Multan Sultans & Lahore Qalandars PSL 2023 Previews

Karachi Kings

Karachi began with three defeats before toppling PSL holders Lahore Qalandars by 67 runs on 19 February.

With that win, they have already equalled their tally from PSL 2022 – Lahore were the fall guys on that occasion as well.

In fact, Karachi have an impressive winning record against Lahore over the last three seasons.

Including the most recent game, the Kings are 5-3 over Lahore, with one of those wins coming in the 2020 final.

Left arm seamer Akif Javed took four-fer against Lahore in a Karachi win and made a strong case for a permanent spot in an unsettled bowling attack.

Watch out for him in the coming games.

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Islamabad United

For the team with the most PSL titles, Colin Munro has been the batter to watch. In a team of big hitters, the left hander is the biggest hitter of all, and a ridiculously fast starter.

The raw numbers are excellent. In the first six overs, the New Zealander’s strike rate is a healthy 180. His strike rate in his first five balls is an even more handsome 220.

By contrast, fellow overseas stars Rassie van der Dussen (154.5 SR in the powerplay/150 SR in his first five balls) and Paul Stirling (75/80) lag well behind.

Powerplay strike rate and first 5 balls strike rate for Colin Munro, Rassie van der Dussen, and Paul Stirling of Islamabad United in PSL 2023
Islamabad United overseas batters strike rate overs 1-6 & first 5 balls strike rate in PSL 2023 | Innings 2

But what makes Munro’s daredevil hitting especially impressive is that it’s coming from #4 in the order.

So far, Islamabad United’s opening partnerships have been 8 and 9. Their scores in the first six are 45 and 55.

Munro’s blitzes are coming under the pressure of a couple of early wickets. There’s an argument that Islamabad aren’t making best use of their resources by giving their form batter the full run of the powerplay.

Keep an eye on Islamabad going forward – if current form persists, Munro might be opening the batting soon.

Quetta Gladiators

Martin Guptill’s astonishing 117 (67) against Karachi Kings is, so far, the highest score in the PSL this season.

The highlight of this knock was its truly remarkable, late onset acceleration. His first 51 runs came in 44 balls, the next 66 in just 23 – an astounding jump in strike rate from 115.90 to 286.95.

This matchup will be one to watch in the rest of the season.

Guptill was particularly severe on Andrew Tye, taking him for 43 runs from 15 balls. It was Guptill’s fifth T20 hundred and Quetta won by six runs.

On the bowling side, Quetta’s spearheads are quicks Mohammad Hasnain & Naseem Shah. They are arguably the PSL’s best fast bowling pair and, between them, collected 7 wickets at an economy of 5.95 in PSL week 1.

In the loss to Peshawar Zalmi, the duo’s eight overs cost just 32 runs, an economy of just 4 – and they took four wickets for good measure.

The other bowlers, meanwhile, combined for 120 runs from 10.3 overs, an economy of 11.42.

Also read: Quetta Gladiators & Islamabad United PSL 2023 Previews

Peshawar Zalmi

Young Saim Ayub’s brisk fifty against Multan Sultans contained a thrilling subplot in his duel with the fire-breathing Ihsanullah.

In this tussle of Emerging Players, Saim Ayub won the first round by knockout. He blasted the quick for 17 runs off 7 balls, including two fours and a six.

This matchup will be one to watch in the rest of the season – and, if both teams maintain their form, might be one of several matchups that decide the fate of this year’s PSL crown.

The pair join David Wiese in a reshaped Qalandars middle order built around three finishers.

Peshawar’s use of James Neesham is also a point of great interest. Since the 2021-22 Super Smash until the 2023 PSL, Neesham bowled 103 overs in 44 innings across 57 games for franchises and country.

This is an average of 2.34 overs an innings, or 1.80 a game. In the last year and change, Neesham didn’t always bowl and when he did, he rarely bowled out.

But in three PSL games so far, the all-rounder has bowled his full quota each time.

In all, Neesham has bowled 42.2 overs in 2023 across the SA20 and the PSL, taking 17 wickets at an economy of 8.14.

2023 might be the renaissance of Neesham the bowler.

Also read: Karachi Kings & Peshawar Zalmi PSL 2023 Previews

Lahore Qalandars

The defending champions went 1-1 in PSL week 1 but there are signs that their recruitment has prepared them well for another title charge.

In just two games, Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza and domestic recruit Hussain Talat have made their mark as key finishers in a new look Qalandars.

Last season, Lahore were third best by strike rate in overs 17 to 20 behind Multan Sultans and Quetta Gladiators.

With Raza striking at 180 and Talat at 200 in their first two games, the champions have had early success in their quest to improve with the bat at the back end.

Death Overs Strike Rates for Lahore Qalandars in PSL 2023
Strike Rate in overs 17 to 20 for Lahore Qalandars in PSL 2023 | Innings 2

The pair join David Wiese in a reshaped Qalandars middle order built around three finishers. There will undoubtedly be more fireworks to close out Qalandars games this season.

 

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