Latest week of PSL 3: Top 10 moments to remember
March 13, 2018
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) third edition is under way in full force, and has produced some of the most incredible and entertaining cricket a fan could ask for.
From batting fireworks to match-winning sixers to the rise of Shaheen Shah Afridi, here are some unforgettable moments from the most recent week of PSL 3:
Batting blitzkrieg
As the tournament has progressed, the wickets have turned a shade friendlier for the batsmen – which is why we saw some brilliant batting performances during the past week.
Islamabad United opener Luke Ronchi smashed the fastest fifty in PSL history against Karachi Kings on March 4, bringing up the feat off just 22 balls. He ended up scoring 71 off 37 balls in that match – which was the biggest individual score of the tournament until it was surpassed by Sohaib Maqsood.
Sohaib Maqsood of Multan Sultans blasted 85* off 42 balls against Peshawar Zalmi, steering his side to a 19-run win.
More of the batting fireworks came from JP Duminy of Islamabad United (73* off 54 against Peshawar Zalmi) and Joe Denly of Karachi Kings (78 off 55 against Multan Sultans).
'The Smash Brothers'
What do you call Shane Watson and Kevin Pietersen punishing the bowlers together? 'The Smash Brothers'!
The duo demolished Karachi Kings, with Watson hitting 90* off 58 balls and KP doing the rest with 52 off 34.
Hassan Khan's match-winning 6
Pakistan's U-19 captain Hassan Khan has had some great moments in his career, but that huge, huge 6 that he hit to seal the match for his team is something he's not going to be forgetting anytime soon.
Quetta Gladiators needed 22 off 12 balls against Multan Sultans, which came down to 9 off 9, then 9 off 6, then 3 off 2. And SIX!
An overwhelmed Hassan Khan was embraced by Sir Vivian Richards, who couldn't have asked for a better birthday present for himself.
Rahat Ali's send-off to Imad Wasim
A hilarious moment that stuck with the fans was Rahat Ali's condescending send-off to Karachi Kings skipper Imad Wasim as Quetta Gladiators neared a record-breaking win.
Shaheen Afridi's destructive 5-fer
Nobody is forgetting that magical spell by Shaheen Shah Afridi anytime soon. It was pure destruction as the 17-year-old ripped through Multan Sultans batting to give Lahore Qalandars their first win of the season.
The Player-of-the-Match dazzled with figures of 3.4-1-4-5.
Misbah trolls Wahab Riaz
The ever-expressionless Misbah stunned his fans when he taunted Wahab Riaz on the pacer's horse-shoe moustache.
Raise your hands if you want more trolling from the skipper!
Zafar Gohar's spin magic
Remember the name: Zafar Gohar. The leg-spinner burst to recognition when he marked his PSL 3 debut with three wickets against Peshawar Zalmi.
The turn he generated, leaving Darren Sammy clueless, is already being hailed as the best delivery of the tournament.
Afridi vs Afridi
A 38-year-old Afridi up against a 17-year-old Afridi. Who would've thought? It was a great battle, but it didn't last long.
Shaheen Shah Afridi to Shahid Afridi, 1st ball, SIX.
Shaheen Shah Afridi to Shahid Afridi, 2nd ball, OUT.
What followed next left us speechless. Shaheen Shah bowled over the fans' hearts when he stopped just short of celebrating, out of respect for the older Afridi.
The no-ball, and the chaos
Out. Celebrations. No-ball. Super Over. Lahore Qalandars vs Karachi Kings was one of the greatest T20 matches of all time.
In an amusing déjà vu to Jasprit Bumrah's no-ball to Fakhar Zaman in Champions Trophy 2017 final, Usman Khan Shinwari set off a comedy of errors when he bowled a no-ball off the last ball of the match.
What followed were several minutes of chaos, as umpires whispered, commentators screamed, the crowd roared and the players stood looking clueless.
and the Super Over...
It went down to the Super Over, and fans couldn't have asked for a more thrilling one. Lahore edged out Karachi, thanks to Sunil Narine's wonderful bowling and Mitchell McClenaghan's heart-stopping catch.
Also read: Coolest (and bizarre) celebrations you can only see in PSL
