Only three out of the first 10 Pakistan Super League 2023 matches have been won by teams batting second. Batters, who have batted in the first innings this season with one-third of the league matches getting completed, have been able to pile up runs at a swift pace without much discomfort.
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However, the same can’t be said of batters in their attempt to chase a total in the ongoing eighth season of the tournament thus far. Bowlers have been successful in complimenting their batters in the second innings by reducing the team batting second to below par innings total in order to register victories with decent margin (of runs).
If the same is an indication of the pitches losing their pace and bounce by the second innings of a T20 match, it should be a concern for a tournament which will be played across only four venues. That being said, the aforementioned 10 matches have only been played in Multan and Karachi as Lahore and Rawalpindi are yet to host a PSL 8 match.
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As far as the highest wicket-takers of the season are concerned, a potential victory has come in the form of lesser-known names not allowing batters to dominate in this format.
Two out of the Top-Five wicket-takers of the season are yet to represent Pakistan. On the contrary, out of the three who have played international cricket, only one has played more than 10 matches across formats.
While one of these five bowlers is a spinner, the remaining four are pacers. In fact, there are only three spinners in the list of the Top 10 bowlers of the season.
PSL 8 most wickets (table updated on March 9, 2023)
Bowler | Matches | Overs | Runs | Wickets | Average | Economy | SR |
Ihsanullah (Multan Sultans) | 8 | 31.4 | 199 | 18 | 11.05 | 6.28 | 10.5 |
Rashid Khan (Lahore Qalandars) | 7 | 27 | 165 | 15 | 11 | 6.11 | 10.8 |
Shaheen Shah Afridi (Lahore Qalandars) | 9 | 32 | 263 | 14 | 18.78 | 8.21 | 13.7 |
Abbas Afridi (Multan Sultans) | 7 | 24.5 | 243 | 13 | 18.69 | 9.78 | 11.4 |
Haris Rauf (Lahore Qalandars) | 9 | 31.1 | 271 | 12 | 22.58 | 8.69 | 15.5 |