PSL 2021: Top five wicket-takers from the Karachi leg

The Pakistan Super League, after a lot of drama, drudgery and negotiations, is set to start its second leg in Abu Dhabi from June 9. The first leg of the tournament (although it wasn’t supposed to be leg wise), held in Karachi was a fantastic affair until Covid-19 breached the tournament and franchise bubbles, leading to its postponement on March 4.  

The Karachi leg saw a lot of brilliant fast bowling spells and the fact that out of the top five wicket-takers in the tournament so far are all fast bowlers is a testament to it. The pitch definitely bunce and carry and even when there was dew, the raw pace of the bowlers did the magic. In fact Zahid Mahmood, the Quetta Gladiators leggie is the only bowler in the top 10 who is a spinner. 

Waqas Maqsood, Arshad Iqbal, Dan Christiana and Mohammad Amir among them picked 19 wickets and were one of the reasons why Karachi Kings sits at the top of the table with three wins from five games. Although none of the features in the top five, Iqbal is at the sixth position in the most wickets table. 

However, Peshawar Zalmi, sitting at the second position with an equal number of wins and losses has two bowlers in the top three and among them, Saqib Mahmood and skipper Wahab Riaz have 20 wickets. 

On that note, let’s recap the PSL 6’s Karachi leg in terms of the top five wicket-takers. 

Saqib Mahmood- Peshawar Zalmi

Topping the list is the pacer from England who plied his trade in the league for Peshawar Zalmi. Saqib Mahmood took 12 wickets in five innings to make sure that Zalmi remained in the hunt in almost all games. While in the first few games, Mahmood was just another bowler picking two wickets, sometimes stopping the flow of runs, sometimes going for a lot of runs. 

In fact, it was the game against Quetta Gladiators that made 24-year-old come to the reckoning. In his last over, which was also the last over of the Quetta innings, the Lancashire man picked three wickets, removing the likes of Azam Khan, Ben Cutting and Mohammad Nawaz all in a single over. And he just gave away five runs, three of which were extras. 

Against Islamabad United in his next game, Wahab Riaz was on fire, but that didn’t stop Mahmood from weaving his own web around the United batters, picking three wickets to dismantle the team from the capitals to a paltry 118 in the 18th over itself. 

In the last game of that leg against Karachi, Mahmodd was not at his very best, in fact, he was wayward than he had ever been, going for 29 runs in his last two overs as the Kings chased down 189 with three balls to spare. 

Mahmood though would not be available for the Abu Dhabi leg due to his T20 Blast and Couty Championship duties with Lancashire. Wahab Riaz, the Zalmi skipper would not only miss out on a great bowling partner but also probably their biggest asset. Though the Abu Dhani pitch might not have as much bounce or carry as Karachi did, especially during this time of the year, yet his death bowling abilities are always desirable. 

Shaheen Afridi- Lahore Qalandars

The left-arm Pakistani quick is second on the list with 10 scalps from four innings. He was sensational with his yorkers at the death and swing at the start of the innings, a deadly combination that is getting him the recognition that he truly deserves now. 

Afridi hit the bullseye in his first-ever attempt only, picking 3014 against the Zalmi team. While he got Imam-ul-Haq off the very first ball of the game, the 21-year-old came back to dismiss the dangerous-looking pair of Ravi Bopara and Sherfane Rutherford, forcing Zalmi to reach only up to 140 in their allotted overs. He was selected Man of the Match for his efforts in that game. 

In the game against Karachi Kings, Shaheen was once again at the money, conceding just 27 runs in his four overs and picking up three scalps. In the game when the entire bowling attack was going over eight, the Pathan from Pakhtunkhwa remained economical, going under seven. He was once again chosen Man of the match. 

The only bad game that Shaheen had this season was against Quetta when he was taken for 43 runs in four overs and managed to pick just one wicket. He conceded 38 runs in his last three overs in that game. And in the game against Multan Sultans, Afridi once again took two wickets to get his tally to 10 wickets from four games. 

Sitting at the fourth position, currently, Shaheen Afridi along with Rashid Khan will hold the key to Lahore’s eventual destiny in Abu Dhabi. 

Shahnawaz Dhani- Multan Sultans

Dhani burst onto the scene of the PSL like a breath of fresh year, always smiling, fun-loving guy celebrating his as well as his teammates’ wickets with the same ecstasy. He is super quick and bows heavy ball, his bouncers were accurate and all this meant that the wickets column of the 22-year-old boy from Larkana in Sindh. 

Dhani has picked up nine wickets in four innings that he has bowled with his best coming in a game against Quetta Gladiators where he conceded 44 runs but to get the wickets of Azam Khan, Ben Cutting and Mohammad Nawaz. Mostly impressive, Dhani was expensive as well. 

Sultans have been wriggling in at the bottom two of the table and to get themselves ahead in the league, winning is the only way out. To win, Dhani will be crucial, only this time will have the likes of Blessing Muzarabani, the tall Zimbabwean for company in UAE. 

Wahab Riaz- Peshawar Zalmi

If it wasn’t for the last game that he played against Islamabad United, getting four wickets for just 17 runs and most importantly bamboozling the middle order of the red brigade, Wahab Riaz was going through a lean patch in the tournament. Prior to this game, the figures of Riaz read 2/54, 0/51 and 2/30 in the previous three games. 

Having taken just four wickets and being expensive before this ultimate game, Riaza, also the skipper of the side was under the pump and he delivered, just when it was required. The 35-year-old picked the wickets of Paul Stirling, Iftikhar Ahmed, Asif Ali and Hasan Ali. 

More than just being a premier wicket-taking option, Wahab would also have to lead the side thus leading by example would be a preferred option and his big-hitting abilities would also come into the offering. 

Hasan Ali- Islamabad United

Coming back from a long injury, PSL was Hasan Ali’s testing ground to see if he fits into the competitive circle and how it is going. He might not have been that great but was good enough to pick wickets in every game and contribute to his team’s victory, three of them in total from the four games that they played. 

The 26-year-old picked six wickets and gave away just 89 runs in 16 overs, which is less than six runs an over. Thus, Hasan Ali did not exactly play the main wicket-taker but was good at building pressure which got the other bowlers to try and take advantage of that and get the wickets. The experience of PSL did pay dividends for Ali as he has been able to pick 26 wickets in his last 10 innings. 

The United bowler will be coming on the back of that form and will be supported by the likes of Mohammad Wasim Junior and Ali Khan in the fast bowling department. 

The United will be up against Lahore Qalanadras in the very first game of the Abu Dhabi leg at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium from 09.30 pm IST.