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The Pakistan Super League started with tentative steps back in 2016 but gradually, the tournament became quite popular and the 2018 edition was the most watched among the three that have taken place so far. The quality of cricket on the show was excellent and plenty of players put in eye-catching performances that lit up the tournament.
There were immense performances from some batsmen and breathtaking performances from bowlers, which turned games on their heads. In addition to that, the all-round performances were not scarce either.
It is perhaps hard to choose the best ones due to the sheer number of excellent shows from some of the players. That being said, here are the ones that will be remembered for a long time.
#5 Shane Watson's 90 off 58 against Karachi Kings
The Australian all-rounder may be 36 years old and no longer an international, but when it comes to actual on-field performances, Shane Watson can still turn games with either the bat or the ball. In a vital game in which the Quetta Gladiators’ needed to win to fortify their prospects of reaching the Qualifier, Watson broke the back of the Karachi Kings with a scintillating innings.
He flayed the Karachi attack led by Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim from the outset. The right-hander hit 5 fours and 7 sixes en route to his brutal unbeaten 90 off only 58 deliveries. The Gladiators scored 180 and it proved to be enough as Karachi could only make 113 for 8 in their 20 overs. Watson also picked up a wicket and ended with 1-18 in 3 overs to make it one of the most memorable performances of the tournament.
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#4 Asif Ali's 45 off 24 against Peshawar Zalmi
Tournaments like the PSL often help unearth cricketers who might go on to play for the national team. In 2017, Shadab Khan proved to be the ‘find’ of the tournament and after the conclusion of PSL 2018, his Islamabad United teammate Asif Ali seems to be the player who might play for Pakistan soon.
The right-hander is just the sort of player a limited overs side needs in the middle-order and in the league game against Peshawar Zalmi, Ali showed what he was capable of. He came into bat in the 14th over with the score at 100 for 3 and unleashed absolute mayhem on the Peshawar Zalmi bowlers.
He hit two fours and four sixes to score 45 off only 24 balls and helped Islamabad reach their eventual score of 182 for 5. He was dismissed in the 19th over but the damage had been done. Islamabad won the game by 26 runs.
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#3 Kamran Akmal's 107 off 61 against Lahore Qalandars
The forgotten man of Pakistan cricket, wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal turned the clock back in this season’s PSL and emerged as one of the stars of the tournament.
His finest performance came in the do or die game against Lahore Qalandars. Chasing a steep target of 173, Akmal went berserk against a bowling attack fronted by the likes of Kyle Abbott, Mitchell McClenaghan and Pakistan’s young star Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Akmal started attacking right from the outset and hit 11 boundaries, in addition to 7 sixes to help Peshawar Zalmi win with two overs to spare. It was one of the best innings of the tournament and propelled their campaign, which eventually finished with a defeat in the final.
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#2 Shaheen Shah Afridi's 5 for 4 against Multan Sultans
He was Pakistan’s leading bowler in the recent Under 19 World Cup and big things were expected from Shaheen Shah Afridi in this year’s PSL. Although he started off slowly, the left-arm pacer exploded against the Multan Sultans and returned the best figures in the history of the PSL. Lahore Qalandars captain Brendan McCullum held him back and he unleashed his fury in the 14 over.
While the first over went for only two runs, the batsman Sohaib Maqsood and the experienced Shoaib Malik looked troubled by his pace. In his next over he picked up 3 wickets as the game turned on its head. Afridi took two more wickets in his final over to finish with dream figures of 3.4-1-4-5.
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#1 Luke Ronchi's 94 off 39 against Karachi Kings
This year’s PSL saw New Zealand’s wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi turn into a hugely destructive T20 opener and his batting was one of the key factors in Islamabad United’s title win this year. The PSL 2018 Player of the Tournament made 5 fifties but the most memorable one was the brutal 94 not out in the Qualifier against the Karachi Kings. Islamabad United had been set a target of 155 but Ronchi wasn’t taking any chances.
Against a capable attack led by Mohammad Amir, Tymal Mills and Usman Khan, he unleashed astonishing power hitting to turn the chase into a bit of a farce. He ended up scoring the fastest 50 in PSL history when he brought up the milestone in just 19 balls and although he was dropped a couple of times, he did not alter his approach. Eventually, he made 94 in only 39 balls and hit 12 fours, in addition to 5 sixes.
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