LAHORE: Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Afridi admitted that his team failed at crucial moments after their Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 clash against Karachi Kings, pointing to poor execution in the death overs as the deciding factor.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Shaheen reflected on his team’s performance and took responsibility for not defending what he believed to be the match total.
“At half-time, I honestly felt 199 was a very competitive total. However, we didn’t back it up in the field. Our execution in the death overs was poor and I take full responsibility for that – I know I should have bowled better in those closing stages to protect the score,” he said.
The left-arm pacer also highlighted the importance of other results in the race for the playoffs.
“As for the qualifier against Quetta Gladiators, they have an afternoon match before we take the field. We are closely watching that result as it will give us a clear picture of what we need to do. Once we know the outcome of their game, we can model our strategy accordingly to ensure we secure our place,” he added.
Batting first, excellent half-centuries from Abdullah Shafiq and Faqar Zaman saw Gulanders post 199/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
Shafiq scored a fluent 62 off 36 balls with 5 fours and 3 sixes while Fakhar scored 61 off 41 balls with the same number of fours.
It is noteworthy that this pair added 110 runs for the 2nd wicket. Daniel Sams scored 20 runs off 9 balls.
Moeen Ali led the bowling for the Kings with figures of 2/26 from four overs, with Hasan Ali and Rizwanullah claiming a wicket each.
In reply, Kings successfully chased down the 200-run target with 8 balls remaining for the loss of 5 wickets with the help of captain David Warner and Khushtil Shah.
Warner scored an unbeaten 63 off 44 balls while Khushtil hit 44 off 14 balls with 5 fours and 2 sixes.
Among the Qalandars bowlers, Ubaid Shah stood out with figures of 3/41, while Sams and Haris Rauf took a wicket each.
The Kings’ hard-fought win keeps them in contention for a play-off spot, lifting them to sixth in the table with eight points from nine matches.