KARACHI: Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan credited his counterpart Babar Azam’s superb century to overcome three-time champions Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11th Qualifier at the National Bank Stadium on Tuesday.
United skipper Shadab’s decision to bat first in the high-stakes match backfired as the table-toppers amassed a mammoth total of 221/7 in their 20 overs.
Babur dominated United’s bowling attack and scored 103 runs off 59 balls with 12 fours and 4 sixes.
He was supported by fellow top-order batsmen Mohammed Harris and Gusal Mendis with brisk 35 and 41 runs respectively, while all-rounder Aaron Hardy added valuable runs with a 10-ball 20.
Reflecting on his team’s performance, Shadab insisted they gave away around 25 extra runs before crediting Babar for taking the game away from them.
“Finishing in the top two is important because it gives you another chance. We loved the chase and supported it, but I feel we gave away 20-25 extra runs. In a chase like this, pace is everything and when you keep losing wickets, you lose that pace,” Shatab said in the post-match briefing.
“The way they played, they outplayed us, especially the way Babur batted – he took the game away from us,” he added.
In turn, the three-time champions were bowled out for 151 runs in 18.4 overs, suffering a heavy defeat by 70 runs.
Although United made a spirited start to the chase and were level on runs with Zalmi at the halfway mark, a middle-order collapse derailed their chances and their skipper Shadab insisted their batsmen got out at the “wrong” time.
“The pitch was good, we started well in the powerplay but our set batters got out at the wrong time. It’s a part of the game but we need to improve our performance both batting and bowling,” Shadab said.
Despite the defeat, United will get another chance to book their place in the final as they will face the winners of Eliminator 1 between Multan Sultans and Hyderabad Kingsmen in Lahore on May 1.
“The advantage of finishing in the top two is that we have one more chance and we will win the next match. Adaptability is important as every ground and pitch is different and we need to adjust in Lahore and come back as a strong team,” Shadab concluded.