KARACHI: After a 159-run loss to Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11-17, Karachi Kings captain David Warner expressed his determination for a strong comeback in the 17th match at the National Bank Stadium on Thursday.
Kings skipper Warner’s decision to bat first backfired as Zalmi amassed a record 246/3 in their 20 overs thanks to a mammoth 191-run second-wicket partnership between century-scorer Gusal Mendis and skipper Babar Azam.
Mendis scored an impressive 109 off 52 balls with 14 fours and 4 sixes, while Babar scored an unbeaten 87 off 51 balls with 10 fours and 2 sixes.
Middle-order batsman Abdul Samad scored an unbeaten 40 off 12 balls, with four sixes and three fours to boost Zalmi’s tally.
Abbas Afridi was the standout bowler for the Kings, taking 2 for 55 in his four overs, with Khushdil Shah picking up a wicket.
Despite his team conceding the highest score in marquee league history, their captain Warner insisted on batting first.
He further noted that the home side were still in contention halfway through Zalmi’s innings, but the game slipped away from them as they leaked around 60 runs in the next three overs, unable to stop the consistent boundaries of his bowlers.
“I think our decision to bowl first was what we wanted to do and what we wanted to do,” Warner said in the post-match briefing.
“But if you allow time to deploy two stroke-makers and keep hitting boundaries every over, it becomes very difficult to get things back. I thought we were still in the game at 10-overs, but in the next three overs they scored 50-60 runs, which is unacceptable at this level.
“In the first six overs, you have to try and be positive. A couple of good balls led to wickets and there was some good fielding in the outfield.”
Chasing a tough 247-run target, the home team could only muster 87 runs in 16.1 overs to lose by 159 runs, their first in the ongoing PSL 11.
Wicketkeeper batsman Azam Khan remained the top scorer for Kings with a cautious 25 off 27 balls with 3 fours and a six, while fellow middle-order batsmen Saad Baig (14) and Khushdil Shah (10) scored double figures.
The Kings skipper also credited the opposition for putting “serious” runs on the board and admitted that it was always going to be a tough ask for the home team to chase down.
“But credit to them, they came out and put serious runs on the board. It’s always going to be a tough chase,” Warner said.
Warner later insisted that such defeats were necessary to re-energize the team, before saying the players were in good spirits.
“In matches like this, sometimes losses like this are needed to bring the energy back into the team,” Warner said.
“When you’re six or seven days off, it can take a while to get back into the rhythm. But the lads are in good spirits, we have a great team and we’ll take the positives. We’ll enjoy the rest tomorrow and come back stronger,” he concluded.