KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam opened up after his side lost to Islamabad United in Eliminator 2 of the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) Season 9 in Karachi.
Speaking after the match, the 29-year-old said their bowling effort was really poor in the second half of United’s innings.
“I think we were in a good position after 10 overs. But our bowling after that was very poor. We were not up to par and we thought we had won the match,” he said.
“We were in front but then we bowled normally,” he added.
Imad Wasim and Haider Ali put on a 98-run stand for the sixth wicket as United reeled at 91/5 while chasing 186.
Imad scored his first fifty of the season and remained unbeaten on 59 off 40 balls, while Haider smashed a 29-ball 52 with five massive sixes and two fours.
“Credit to Imad and Haider for the way they played,” Babar praised the duo for their partnership.
At the start of the chase, United got off to a terrible start, losing three wickets in four overs with just 21 runs on the board.
In-form Martin Guptill fought back briefly, notably scoring 22 runs in a power over against Saim Ayub before being dismissed by Khurram Shehzad in the final over of the bat.
Guptill remained a notable contributor for United, scoring 34 runs off 21 balls, including five boundaries and a six.
With the scoreboard reading 50/4 after six overs, Azam Khan combined with Imad to secure a recovery.
The pair batted sensibly for about five overs until Luke Wood dismissed Azam (22) in the last delivery of the 11th over, hampering United’s recovery efforts, but Imad and Haider led them to a thrilling victory.
This is United’s first PSL final since 2018 and they will face Multan Sultans at the same venue on March 18.
Earlier, Saim Ayub’s flamboyant innings of 73 runs coupled with Mohammad Haris’ 40 drove Zalmi to 185/5.
Naseem Shah led the bowling attack for United, taking figures of 3/30 in his four overs, while Shadab and Obed McCoy took one wicket each.
