American Premier League 2023: Top run-getters and wicket-takers after Premium Indians vs Premium Afghans final (Updated) ft. Usman Ghani
Premium Afghans outplayed Premium Indians by 24 runs in the final match of the American Premier League (APL) 2023 on Sunday, December 31, played at the Moosa Stadium in Pearland.
Premium Afghans elected to bat first on a placid wicket and crumbled in the early part of their innings after being reduced to 12 for 3 in the powerplay. Even though wickets kept tumbling from the other end, opener Usman Ghani stood firm at the crease to deliver in the big game.
Ghani, who is the only centurion in the tournament, carted two boundaries and four sixes to lead the charge for Premium Afghans on a day when his teammates bite the dust. The Afghanistan international made 55 runs off 47 balls at a strike rate of 117.02. William Perkins (15 off 9 balls) and Abdul Wasi (15 off 19 balls) added some important runs in the middle.
Premium Indians pacer Stephen Wiig’s magnificent spell of 4/5 from 3.2 overs shot Afghans down to 115 for 10 in 19.2 overs. Amad Butt (2 for 16) and Sunny Patel (2 for 22) added two wickets each.
In response, the top order of Premium Indians returned to the pavilion without troubling the scoreboard. Rakheem Cornwell, Rajdeep Darbar, Kieran Powell, and Sohrawadi Shuvo were dismissed for a duck as the league leaders were found reeling at 9/4 in the third over. Afghans' pacer Yousuf Zazai inspired the early setback in the opposition camp, decimating their top order.
Zazai picked four wickets for 19 runs in 3.3 overs as the Indians were bowled out for 91 in 17.3 overs despite the fight shown by the lower order. As a result, Premium Afghans were crowned champions of the American Premier League season 2 with Zazai being adjudged as the player of the match.
On that account, let’s take a look at the final updated list of top run-getters and wicket-takers of the APL 2023.
American Premier League 2023 Most Runs
Premium Afghans opener Usman Ghani finished the season with a match-winning half-century that extended his lead at the top of the run-scoring charts. He became the first player to cross 200 runs this season after his determined 55 off 47 balls. He scored 279 runs in seven games at a strike rate of 136.10 with the highest score being 101 against Premium Aussies.
Premium Americans batter Gerhard Erasmus was second on the list with 166 runs from five matches at a strike rate of 149.55. Following his remarkable 87* against Premium Windies in the semi-final, Oman international Mehran Khan ended third with 163 runs in five games.
Premium Windies batters Kevin Stoute and Aaron Johnson finished at fourth and fifth spot in the charts, though both leveled at the aggregate score of 145 runs. Stoute’s superior average (36.25) and strike rate (136.79) kept him ahead of his teammate.
American Premier League 2023 Most Wickets
Even though Hayden Walsh went wicketless in the semifinal against Premium Afghans, the West Indies leg-spinner was far ahead of the rest of the pack to claim the pole position at the season's end in the most wicket-taking charts of APL 2023. Walsh picked 16 wickets in six matches at an average of 7.44 and an economy rate of 5.37.
Walsh’s teammate Raj Nannan finished at the second spot with 12 wickets and Premium Americans spinner Imran Khan was at third with 11 wickets. Premium Indians trio Sunny Patel, Amad Butt, and Stephen Wiig finished the season with 10 wickets each after their sublime bowling in the final.
Yousuf Zazai’s match-winning performance of 4/19 propelled him to the seventh position with eight wickets at an economy rate of 7.54. Kevin Stoute is the only player to feature in the top 10 of both the most wickets and most runs lists of the American Premier League 2023.