Quetta Gladiators captain Sarfaraz Ahmed admitted that they could not put enough runs on the board in the 20th match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League 2022 against Lahore Qalandars at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi won the toss and decided to bowl first against the Gladiators.
Sarfaraz Ahmed-led team could not get off to a good start as Afridi dismissed in-form Jason Roy and James Vince in the first over of the match. In fact, Roy had scored a fine hundred against Lahore Qalandars a couple of matches ago but he was dismissed without troubling the scorers.
Subsequently, Sarfaraz Ahmed was run-out whereas Ahsan Ali was dismissed by Rashid Khan. Consequently, Quetta Gladiators could only manage 142 runs on the board after Iftikhar Ahmed scored 52 runs. The Gladiators lost four wickets in the powerplay overs and it was always going to be difficult for them to bounce back from 25-4 after five overs.
Sarfaraz Ahmed also admitted that his team needs to improve their bowling as they could only take two wickets before Lahore Qalandars convincingly chased down the target.
Sarfaraz Ahmed said in the post-match presentation, “We lost four wickets in the first 6 overs. And then we couldn’t put enough runs on the board to lose it. Our best batting line up is playing now and we should start winning more pretty soon. We need to get wickets. We need to improve our bowling”.
On the other hand, Fakhar Zaman continued his rich form in the tournament as he scored another fine knock of 53 runs for Lahore Qalandars. Zaman is the highest run-getter in PSL 2022 as he has already amassed 469 runs in seven matches at an impressive average of 67 and a strike rate of 165.16.
Zaman was delighted after his fine show with the bat. He said after the game, “I am feeling good. I am trying to play a little quickly at the start of my innings. We haven’t changed anything. The wickets here suit our team more. Shaheen has improved really well as a bowler which is there for the world to see and his captaincy is improving every day as a skipper as well. We are gelling well and should try our best to win the tournament”.
Quetta Gladiators will next face Peshawar Zalmi on Tuesday at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.
