It is time for the National Stadium to renew its annual subscription of hosting Pakistan Super Kings League matches. Karachi, which had hosted PSL matches even during the COVID-19 pandemic, is one of the regular venues to be allotted matches irrespective of whether other Pakistani cities get to host PSL matches or not.
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As a result, the iconic venue will be seen hosting 10 more matches during the ongoing eighth season of the PSL taking its total tally to be in vicinity of 200 matches by the end of this season. Between PSL 7 and 8, this stadium has hosted four Pakistan-England T20Is in the shortest format.
Karachi Kings will be hosting Peshawar Zalmi in the second match of PSL 2023 tonight. Kings, who have played 20 matches here, have won eight and lost 11 times over the years. Astonishingly, Zalmi also have a similar record in the city on the back of eight wins and 11 losses in their 19 matches. PZ (8.72), however, have a better average run rate than KK (8.31) at the National Stadium.
Karachi T20 records
Highest run-scorers in Karachi T20s are Babar Azam (1,643), Shoaib Malik (1,192), Kamran Akmal (1,077), Mohammad Rizwan (1,060) and Fakhar Zaman (951). Barring Akmal, all the other cricketers are part of Pakistan Super League 8 squads.
| Batters | Matches | Runs | Highest | Average | SR | 100 | 50 |
| Babar Azam | 38 | 1643 | 110* | 60.85 | 134.78 | 1 | 15 |
| Shoaib Malik | 40 | 1192 | 88* | 49.67 | 133.93 | 0 | 8 |
| Mohammad Rizwan | 26 | 1060 | 88 | 58.89 | 141.33 | 0 | 11 |
| Fakhar Zaman | 24 | 951 | 106 | 41.35 | 151.43 | 1 | 7 |
| Mohammad Hafeez | 26 | 779 | 100 | 38.95 | 158.33 | 1 | 5 |
Superstars @JimmyNeesh & @Sah75official have reached Karachi to join the #Zalmi Squad ahead of Peshawar Zalmi’s 1st #HBLPSL8 game against Karachi tonight ⚡️#YellowStorm #ZKingdom #ZalmiDeluxe #ZalmiRalal pic.twitter.com/vsJKDexlFq
— Peshawar Zalmi (@PeshawarZalmi) February 14, 2023
Highest T20 wicket-takers at the National Stadium are Shadab Khan (32), Hasan Ali (30), Wahab Riaz (29), Shahid Afridi (28) and Mohammad Hasnain (28). Other than Afridi, all the remaining bowlers are participating in PSL 2023.
| Bowlers | Matches | Wickets | Average | Economy | SR |
| Shadab Khan | 21 | 32 | 18.09 | 7.28 | 14.91 |
| Hasan Ali | 24 | 30 | 23.83 | 8.19 | 17.47 |
| Wahab Riaz | 27 | 29 | 26.86 | 8.03 | 20.07 |
| Mohammad Hasnain | 19 | 27 | 23.04 | 8.66 | 15.96 |
| Haris Rauf | 20 | 27 | 25.93 | 9.21 | 16.89 |
Highest T20 innings totals at National Stadium, Karachi
| Score | Overs | Team | Opposition | Year |
| 238/3 | 20 | Islamabad United | Lahore Qalandars | 2019 |
| 229/4 | 20 | Islamabad United | Quetta Gladiators | 2022 |
| 222/3 | 20 | Multan Sultans | Peshawar Zalmi | 2022 |
| 221/3 | 20 | England | Pakistan | 2022 |
| 217/8 | 20 | Sialkot Stallions | Karachi Zebras | 2006 |
While 200-run mark has been touched on five separate occasions in successful T20 run-chases at this venue, the record for the highest run-chase lies with Pakistan for chasing down a 208-run target against West Indies with both seven balls and wickets remaining during the third T20I of West Indies’ tour of Pakistan 2021.
