American Premier League 2023: Top run-getters and wicket-takers after Premium Afghans vs Premium Aussies (Updated) ft. Usman Ghani
Premium Paks and Premium Afghans qualified for the semifinals of the American Premier League 2023 on Friday, December 29, which was the last day of the league stage played at the Moosa Stadium in Pearland.
Premium Paks managed a below-par score of 102 for 9 in the first innings, courtesy of Sohail Tanvir’s 31 runs off 29 balls. However, the bowlers restricted Premium Canadians to 81 for 5 in a match reduced to 18 overs per innings. Left-arm pace duo of Tanvir (2 for 15) and Mohammad Irfan (2 for 17) were spot on with their incisive lengths to curb the flow of runs.
In another match, Premium Afghans rode on opener Usman Ghani’s hundred (101* off 62 balls) laced with four boundaries and nine sixes to post a challenging target of 170 against Premium Aussies. In response, Aussies' captain Ben Cutting walloped 63 runs off 18 balls, with nine massive sixes.
But once the Afghans got the better of Cutting at the halfway mark, they steamrolled the remaining Aussies batting order. The Aussies squandered the heavy advantage given by their captain as they faltered from 109 for 4 in 10th over to 165 for 8, eventually losing by four runs.
The Premium Paks will face table toppers Premium Indians in the first semi-final on Saturday (December 30) followed by the second semi-final between Premium Windies and Premium Afghans.
On that note, let’s take a look at the top run-getters and highest wicket-takers of the tournament following the conclusion of the American Premier League 2023 league stage.
American Premier League 2023 Most Runs List
Usman Ghani climbed the ladder to secure the pole position after his thunderous century against Premium Aussies. The Afghanistan international became the first player in this season to reach the three-figure score.
Ghani has amassed 176 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 145.45 to displace Premium Americans batter Gerhard Erasmus at the top. Erasmus will finish the tournament with 166 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 149.55 after his team was eliminated from the knockout race.
Ben Cutting (85) and Mehran Khan from Premium Afghans were the latest inclusions in the top 10 run-getters list of the American Premier League 2023.
American Premier League 2023 Most Wickets List
Premium Windies spinners Hayden Walsh (16 wickets at 5) and Raj Nannan (12 wickets at 6.42) lead the charts of most wickets in the tournament after the league stage. The top seven wicket-takers remained the same after the action on Friday.
The only three changes were observed in the positions from numbers 8 to 10. Premium Aussies' bowlers Simi Singh and Asad Rafiq finished the season with a tally of four wickets each.