By Our Special Correspondent
ISLAMABAD (March 16, 2020):-The action-packed group-stage of the HBL Pakistan Super League 2020 concluded on Sunday and such has been the intensity of the competition that it took all 30 games for the semi-final line-up to be decided.
Over the course of the last week, players and teams tumbled many individual records as fans continued to enjoy riveting contests.
Statistican Mazher Arshad recaps the third week of the HBL PSL 2020.
Chris Lynn’s best
Chris Lynn took Lahore Qalandars to the HBL PSL 2020 semi-finals with his T20 career-best performance.
The Australian batsman smashed 113 not out off 55 balls, his highest score in the format, in a must-win game against Multan Sultans at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
This was also his only second century in T20 cricket.
This was the first-ever century by a Lahore Qalandars’ batsman in the history of HBL PSL and eighth overall. Previously, highest score by a Qalandars’ batsman was registered by Ben Dunk when he thundered his way to 99 not out against Karachi Kings at the Gaddafi Stadium in the ongoing edition.
Lynn reached 50 off 22 balls which is the joint-fastest for Qalandars along with Umar Akmal’s 22-ball 50 against Quetta Gladiators in Dubai in 2016.
Most sixes in an innings
Lahore Qalandars batsman Ben Dunk broke his own record of most sixes in an innings in HBL PSL from the previous week.
Dunk had hit 10 sixes against Quetta Gladiators in Lahore. He bettered it by hitting 12 sixes this time against Karachi Kings and helped his team to chase 188.
The Australian batsman finished at 99 not out becoming the first batsman in T20 history to have two scores of 99 as he had registered a similar score for NMB Giants in the Mzansi Super League last year.
Lahore’s chasing record
Lahore Qalandars are the first team in HBL PSL to successfully chase 180-plus targets on four occasions.
Three of those instances have come in this year’s edition as they scaled 188 against Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi and 187 against Multan Sultans (all three at the Gaddafi Stadium).
Last year, they chased 201 against Sultans in Sharjah.
Quetta Gladiators have chased 180-plus targets thrice, Karachi Kings have done it twice and Islamabad United have done it once.
Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans are the two teams who are yet to achieve the feat.
New finalist
As the HBL PSL 2020 semi-finals will be played between Multan Sultans and Peshawar Zalmi and Karachi Kings and Lahore Qalandars, there will be at least one new finalist this year.
Sultans, Kings and Qalandars have never featured in a final.
In the last four editions, only three teams played the HBL PSL finals. Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators have featured in three finals, while Islamabad United have played in two.
It is also first time in the HBL PSL that Gladiators and United have failed to go beyond the group-stage.
Six to start the innings
Karachi Kings’ opener Sharjeel Khan achieved a unique feat in HBL PSL when he hit six off the first ball of the innings against Islamabad United at National Stadium Karachi.
No batsman before Sharjeel had kicked off the innings with a six. He hit one more six and two fours in that over taking the overall tally to 20 runs.
It was first time in PSL that Kings scored 20 runs in the first over of an innings.
10-wicket win
Sharjeel Khan also had an unbeaten opening partnership of 151 runs with Babar Azam in Karachi Kings’ home match against Lahore Qalandars, making it the only second instance in HBL PSL where a team won by 10 wickets.
Previously, Peshawar Zalmi was the only team to win by 10 wickets, also against Qalandars, at Sharjah in 2018.
The unbeaten 151-run partnership between Sharjeel and Babar was the fourth highest for any wicket in HBL PSL.
Youngest to score 50 in HBL PSL
At 19 years and 160 days, Peshawar Zalmi’s emerging player Haider Ali became the youngest to score a half-century in the tournament when he smashed 69 off 43 balls against Lahore Qalandars at the Gaddafi Stadium.
Haider is the first teenager to register half-century in HBL PSL.
The previous record belonged to Islamabad United’s Hussain Talat, who was 20 years and 74 days old, when he hit 56 off 39 against Quetta Gladiators in Dubai in 2017.
Best Powerplay performance
Banking on Samit Patel’s career-best T20 figures of four for five, Lahore Qalandars had the best Powerplay outing as a bowling unit when they reduced Quetta Gladiators to 21 for six in six overs in Lahore.
Only once before had a team (Peshawar Zalmi against Qalandars in Dubai in 2017) had taken six wickets in the Powerplay but that came at cost of 45 runs.
350 wickets milestone
Sohail Tanvir’s match-winning spell of three wickets for Multan Sultans against Peshawar Zalmi made him the first Pakistani and only sixth in the world to 350 wickets in T20 cricket.
Among pacers, Tanvir (351 wickets) is now only behind Lasith Malinga (390) and Dwayne Bravo (497) whereas Shakib Al Hasan (354), Imran Tahir (365) and Sunil Narine (379) are the three spinners who have more wickets than him.
Another feature of Tanvir’s bowling in this year’s HBL PSL has been his economy rate. Of players who have bowled at least 20 overs in the tournament, he is the only bowler with an economy rate below 7.00 with 6.80.
