KARACHI: Hyderabad Kingsmen skipper Marnus Labuschagne admits he missed the missed opportunity as he fell painfully close to victory in a tense finale to his latest match.
Following the post-match presentation, the Australian batsman expressed his disappointment at seeing his side so close to sealing only to see it slip away in the final moments.
“That’s a tough one to swallow,” Labusagne said. “I think we got really close and it felt like it was there and then Ifti (Iftikhar Ahmed) played a good shot in that last over to put things in their favour.”
Reflecting on his side’s efforts in the closing stages, he praised the bowlers for keeping the match alive and highlighted their tactical discipline under pressure.
“We tried to use our two-time offense so we could keep pitching, get our fielding right, put our best fielders in key positions and make sure we did the little things right,” he explained.
“So much credit goes to our two pacers who bowled the last four overs. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way, but it was an incredible finish to keep us in the game.”
The top-order batsman admitted that his team has yet to produce a complete game this season, pointing out the inconsistency in the batting despite flashes of strong form.
“I told the boys already, I don’t think we’ve played a full match yet where we put everything together,” he said. “Against Multan, we scored 230 and added it with the bat. Today, we didn’t – we lost six wickets for two.”
He concluded with individual contributions, particularly a middle-order recovery and a spirited bowling display that almost turned the match in their favour.
“But once again, KP (Kusal Perera) played a brilliant innings to bring us to a level and we built a partnership in the middle. Then we put on an incredible display of bowling to almost clinch the win,” he added.
Batting first, the Kingsmen were reduced to just 145 in 18.2 overs as Peshawar’s spin duo Iftikhar Ahmed and Sufyan Muqeem dominated the middle overs.
Hyderabad’s top order offered little resistance: Mas Sadaq 17, Saim Ayub 14, Sharjeel Khan and Usman Khan fell cheaply for two and a golden duck respectively.
Kusal Perera scored 58 off 35 balls including 5 fours and 2 sixes. Labuschagne scored 27 runs off one ball with three fours, while Irrfan Khan and Hasan Khan scored nine runs each. Mahesh Deekshana and Hunain Shah were dismissed as ducks.
In reply, Peshawar Zalmi toiled during the chase but eventually reached the target in the final ball of the 20th over. Iftikhar Ahmed (15 runs) and Amir Jamal (6 runs) worked calmly and secured the victory.
Captain Babar Azam top-scored with 43 runs off 37 balls with 6 fours, while Gusal Mendis and Michael Bracewell added 27 and 25 runs respectively.