In the last few days, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been making a lot of noise across the globe. There’s been talk about smaller boundaries because of which 200+ scores have been achieved with ease and for two nights in a row, 240+ totals were even chased down with ease. While the batting records have been tumbling at PSL 2023, we’re not sure how good an endorsement it is for the game of cricket.
HBL PSL 8 was going along quietly until a week or so ago where the boundaries got smaller and the big hits kept increasing. It was only 24 hours ago that Multan Sultans recorded the highest ever chase in PSL history, scoring 244 with a ball to spare against Peshawar Zalmi thanks to the fastest PSL century till date, from the bat of South Africa’s Rilee Rossouw. However, these records were all to be broken 24 hours later.
PSL 2023 – Qais Ahmad
Playing just his second game of PSL 2023 was Usman Khan who opened the batting along with his captain Mohammad Rizwan. Rizwan was going well but Khan was going berserk at the other end, smashing the ball to every corner of the ground. This was the first time we witnessed an individual century in the PSL within the first 9 overs of the innings, putting up a record 36-ball century.
It was Rossouw who smashed a century in 41 balls yesterday, only for it to be broken a day later by his teammate Usman Khan. With 12 fours and 9 sixes, Khan smashed his way to 120(43) in a knock which also saw Multan put up their highest partnership in PSL history, getting 157 runs for the opening wicket, and that too in only 10 overs!
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There’s always someone who you would target more than others and Usman decided to get stuck into Afghanistan’s Qais Ahmad, who was hit for 27 runs off his first over and then 27 runs in his second over as well. Records were already tumbling as he ended with 0/54 in 2 overs, before Rizwan decided to go after him when he came back for his third over in the 13th over of the innings.
The Quetta captain Mohammad Nawaz must’ve thought it was fair to bring in Ahmad after Usman Khan was dismissed, but he gave away runs without Usman at the crease, getting hit for 9 runs in his third, but the saving grace being that he picked up the crucial wicket of Rilee Rossouw in that over. That’s the only way he’d end with better figures, reducing a few runs off the final total by getting this man out.
2 for 77 in 4 overs for #QaisAhmad is the most expensive spell in the history of T20 Cricket. pic.twitter.com/Ip3wYfcIlF
— Nawaz 🇵🇰 (@Rnawaz31888) March 11, 2023
Even though Mohammad Hafeez bowled an over and you’d not expect Qais to come back for the fourth, the Afghani returned and picked the crucial wicket of Rizwan on the boundary in his final over as well. He bowled the 15th over of the game and while it was a brilliant comeback after being 0/54 in 2 overs, he still ended the day with the worst figures in PSL history – finishing with 2/77 in 4 overs.
In international cricket, Kasun Rajitha has the record for the worst figures with 0/75 for Sri Lanka and Qais went past those numbers as well. It wasn’t a good day in the office for him as he went past the 1/67 set by Shahid Afridi as the most expensive PSL figures, set in Feb 2022. Considering these small boundaries though, we think Qais’ record can be broken sometime soon too.
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