A look at the key records from the nine seasons so far, with the tenth edition upon us
Sampath Bandarupalli10-Apr-2025Transition of dominance from bowlers to battersThe PSL was once known as a bowler-dominant league, with the UAE hosting most of the games. But the batters have taken the lead ever since the tournament moved completely to Pakistan. Across 124 matches held in the UAE, the average batting strike rate was 123.36. That has gone up to 138.79 in the 158 games hosted by Pakistan.The balls per wicket are more or less the same – 18.21 in the UAE, and 18.39 in Pakistan – but the average has gone up by three runs, from 22.25 to 25.52. The boundary frequency has also increased, from 6.40 balls per boundary to 5.35, and the balls-per-six ratio has improved from 20.23 to 17.63.Rawalpindi’s run feastsThe Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has the best run rate among all the venues that have hosted PSL games. The run rate here is 9.71 across 25 matches, one run higher than the second-placed National Stadium in Karachi.Across 18 matches in the last two seasons, Rawalpindi saw 16 totals of 200 or more. In seven matches, both teams breached 200. Four of the top five match aggregates in the PSL, including the top three, have come in Rawalpindi.Peshawar Zalmi have made the knockouts, or playoffs, every single season•PSLFinishing in top four every yearPeshawar Zalmi are the only team in the PSL to have made it to the knockouts, or playoffs, in all nine editions. Although they have won the title only once (in 2017), they have qualified for the final four times and finished as runners-up three times (2018, 2019 and 2021).Multan Sultans have also reached the final in four different seasons – 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024. Islamabad United, the most successful team in the league with three titles, has failed to make the playoffs only once, in 2020.Multan Sultans’ fortressSultans have an impressive record when playing at their home ground, the Multan Cricket Stadium. They have a win-loss ratio of 5.5 at this venue, the best among all teams at any venue in the PSL. Sultans have won 11 of the 13 matches they played here, losing only two – by margins of one run and five runs.Five of their 11 wins came by a margin of 30-plus runs, including four by 50 or more. Twice, they won chasing with five or more overs to spare. In those 13 matches in Multan, their batters averaged 39.36 and scored at 9.07 runs per over. Their opponents averaged 18.35 at a scoring rate of 7.89.Ronchi, the boundary hitterLuke Ronchi, who last played the PSL in 2020, has hit a boundary every 3.7 balls – the best among those with 500-plus runs in the PSL. Among the active players, Mohammad Haris has the best ratio: 3.92 balls per boundary.Tim David is at the top when it comes to six hitting, with a ratio of 7.84 balls per six. He has hit 42 sixes off 337 balls across 22 matches. Asif Ali is the best among those who will be playing this year, with 8.53 balls per six. Only Fakhar Zaman (104) has hit more sixes in the PSL than Asif’s 90.Shaheen Shah Afridi is different gravy in the first over of the innings•AFP/Getty ImagesCan Gladiators get their mojo back?Quetta Gladiators finished in the top four in each of the first four editions, and played the final the first three times – in 2016, 2017 and 2019. Till 2019, when they won their maiden title, Gladiators had the best win-loss ratio among all teams – 1.625; they won 26 matches, and lost 16. But since then, they have won 18 and lost 31, and their win-loss ratio of 0.580 is the worst among six teams.Till 2019, Gladiators’ scoring rate of 7.98 and economy rate of 7.66 was the best in the league. Since then, they are worst on both metrics, with a run rate of 8.31 and an economy rate of 9.23. In the last five seasons, they have made the playoffs only once, in 2024.Shaheen’s first-over strikesShaheen Shah Afridi is one of only three bowlers to take 100-plus wickets in the PSL. But when it comes to striking in the first over, he is a clear leader. He has struck 19 times in the first over of the innings, seven times more than the second-best Hasan Ali.Three hundreds in seven inningsSultans’ Usman Khan came under limelight when, in PSL 2023, he smashed a 36-ball century, the fastest in the league’s history. He returned in 2024 with back-to-back unbeaten tons, becoming the first player to score hundreds in successive innings in the PSL. Usman’s three centuries came in a span of seven innings; no one else has even two in seven innings.Usman Khan has three hundreds in just 17 innings•PCB/PSLUsman is currently tied with Kamran Akmal for the most PSL tons. Usman has played only 17 games while Kamran played 74.An unlikely record-holderPredominantly a batter, Ravi Bopara has only one five-for in his 21-year T20 career. And only once did he take six wickets in an innings in his 1000-plus match professional career.That came in the PSL when Bopara took 6 for 16 against Lahore Qalandars in the inaugural 2016 season. Three others have taken six-fors in the PSL since then, but none have managed to better Bopara’s figures.Team hundred in the powerplay on cards?No team in the PSL has scored 100 runs inside the powerplay. The highest powerplay total is 97 for 0 by Islamabad against Gladiators in 2021. They reached the 100-run mark in 6.2 overs, the fastest team hundred in the PSL. With the increasing scoring rates in the past couple of years, PSL 2025 could see the 100-run barrier breached in the powerplay for the first time.
