During Karachi Leg Matches HBL Pakistan Super League 6 produced an exciting cricket that kept teams, supporters and fans on the edge of their seats throughout all 14 matches on Points Table.
Teams that finished second won the first 13 games, while 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators turned the Multan Sultans around in the final game to be played at the National Stadium with a 22-run victory on March 3, becoming the first team to successfully defend a goal in the season.
So far, the sixth edition on Points Table has proven to be as competitive as others, with four of the six teams tied at six points each heading into the Abu Dhabi stage to be played next month at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Read More: PSL 2021 Schedule, Fixtures, Points Table, Teem Squads
Most Runs
Three batsmen racked up 200 or more runs on the Karachi stage with Sultans captain Mohammad Rizwan leading the running back table. The goalie-hitter who has enjoyed a phenomenal career in T20 and T20I in the recent past scored 297 runs to 59.40 with an impressive hit rate of 140.09 in his five games for the Multan Sultans.
Rizwan turned three and a half centuries on the Karachi stretch. Pakistan T20I captain and the Kings, hitting mainstay Babar Azam, scored 258 runs in 86. The right-hander maintained a strike rate of 138.70 as he recorded three half-centuries for his team in his five games.
Babar’s starting teammate Sharjeel Khan scored Karachi’s only leg century, the left-hander’s 200 runs in five innings were scored at a strike rate of 170.94, he averaged 40 per inning with the help of a century and a half. . .
The Babar-Sharjeel duo recorded the biggest partnership of the Karachi stage, scoring 176 runs against Islamabad United.
Most Wickets
Zalmi’s fast bowler Saqib Mehmood was Karachi’s best leg player, the right arm took 12 wickets in five matches at 12.08 and an impressive economy rate of 7.98, his best figures were three wickets for 12 runs.
Qalandars left armorer Shaheen Shah Afridi also continued his impressive T20 bowling form by catching nine wickets in four games at 12:55. Shaheen conceded just 7.06 runs over, his best being three wickets for 14 runs.
The Sultans’ pacemaker, Shahnawaz Dhani, caught the attention of fans and league fans by collecting nine wickets in four games in his debut season on HBL PSL. The sultans would rely on Shahnawaz on the Abu Dhabi stage to revive his fledgling fortunes. Shahnawaz was a bit pricey with an economy rate of 10.33 on the Karachi stage, but he kept taking wickets at regular intervals at 17.22. His best figures were three wickets for 44 runs.
Meanwhile, Zalmi captain Wahab Riaz recorded the only four-wicket round of the Karachi stage, the left arm taking four wickets for 17 runs against United to headline his team’s convincing six-wits victory.
Points Table
The defending champion Karachi Kings topped the points table with six points from five games (three wins, two losses). Interestingly, the top four teams, Kings, Peshawar Zalmi, Islamabad United and Lahore Qalandars accumulated six points in the Karachi stage, with the Kings taking first place due to their better net run rate.
2017 champions Peshawar Zalmi are second with as many points, wins and losses as the Kings, but a lower net run rate of 0.273 compared to 0.697 for the Kings.
Islamabad United, the 2016 and 2018 champions, ranks third. They recorded three wins in four games they played in Karachi, their net running rate is 0.202.
Lahore Qalandars, a 2020 HBL PSL finalist, is fourth with three wins and one loss in his four games with a 0.085 net run rate and six points.
Multan Sultans languish in fifth place with two points from five matches (one win, four losses) and a net run rate of -0.244, while 2019 champions Quetta Gladiators are in last place with one win and four. defeats in five games. and a net execution rate of -0.936.
