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Rawalpindiz’ total should have been well beyond what Karachi Kings were ultimately set. Rawalpindiz were 174 for three after 17 overs. Sam Billings and Daryl Mitchell had plundered 76 off the previous five. Abbas Afridi, an effective bowler with the older ball in the PSL, was just hit for four boundaries in the previous over by Billings, all through the leg side. His partnership with Mitchell was cruising at 11 an over and they would eventually put on 120 runs together from only 70 balls.
At that stage 200-plus was a formality and 220 looked within reach. That they ended up ultimately with only 197 was down almost entirely to Hasan Ali. Hasan bowled the 18th and 20th overs of the innings, conceding just 13 and dismissing Billings and Cole McConchie.
It was the third time in as many matches that Hasan’s return at the death (overs 17-20) broke the batting side’s momentum, his exploits helping Kings win all those games.
The batters have had a great time at the Gaddafi Stadium; the pitches have been largely fresh and true, the boundaries shorter, and the outfield lightening quick. The batting strike-rate across the 13 matches at Gaddafi has been just under 150 and the average runs per dismissal a shade below 29. It’s early days, but none of the last 10 PSL seasons
has seen such rapid and assured run scoring.
Not much has gone the bowlers’ way, though Hasan has been an early anomaly. Batters have found it difficult to line him up. He is the leading wicket-taker in this edition with eight scalps, and six of those have come in the death, courtesy his excellent mix of cutters, slower-ones, bouncers, and yorkers.
Wickets are not the only marker of a bowler’s impact when it comes to death bowling; they are cheaper in this phase when maximising scoring opportunities is the priority. But Hasan’s wickets have dragged scoring rates by disrupting the momentum of the innings. His five overs at the death have conceded 4.80 per over, which is the best among all the bowlers to have bowled at least four overs in this phase. What underscores Hasan’s extraordinary returns is the fact that quicks have been leaking more than 11 runs an over in this phase this season.
Hasan has been doing it for longer than just this season, ticking all the boxes that a specialist death bowler is required to since he moved to Kings. Since the start of the 2024 season, he has bowled at an economy rate of 9.60 at the death, which is the second best for the bowlers with at least 15 overs.
In the game against Rawalpindiz, Billings was bowled off a hard length delivery after a cutter and sharp bouncer had rattled him. Hasan set up McConchie in a similar manner in the last over. A week before against Quetta Gladiators, his smart use of variations left Hamza 30 to defend off the last over having been somewhat on course needing 58 off the last five but with wickets in hand. Hasan derailed that chase, conceding only seven runs across 12 balls and removing the well-set Rilee Rossouw in the 16th and Hasan Nawaz, Tom Curran, and Ahmed Daniyal in the 19th over.
He was a strong contender for the match award in both the games, but adjudicators went – as they always seem to do in the format – with the batting feats first of Azam Khan and then Moeen Ali. Against Lahore Qalandars, he conceded only two and six, with a wicket, in 17th and 19th overs.
It’s been nearly a decade now since Hasan helped Pakistan win their first 50-over ICC title in 25 years – the Champions Trophy in 2017 – with his wonderful old-ball spells in the middle overs. He is not a regular new-ball bowler in the white-ball formats, his tendency to float the ball in search of swing generally punished. Pakistan have tended to use him as a first or second change bowler in both limited overs formats, where his variations and hit-the-deck approach works better.
Inconsistent returns in international cricket have seen him in and out of the side but in the PSL, and especially in Kings blue, he has stood out at the death. That has translated into a terrific start to the PSL this season and it is likely to get better as the league moves to Karachi, a venue where he loves bowling. No bowler has taken more wickets at the National Stadium than
Hasan’s 45 – at an average of 21.60 – in the PSL.
Even as other captains scramble to find ways to minimise damage during the death overs, David Warner and Karachi Kings at least have Hasan to call upon.
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