KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi only lacked the motivation to secure a spot in the event final in the HBL Pakistan Super League qualifier held here at the National Bank Stadium on Thursday night.
The past champions, led by Babar Azam, appeared complacent as the Multan Sultans, playing with precision, won the match by seven wickets on Monday.
When Zalmi fights the first Eliminator winners again on Saturday in an attempt to capture a second title, complacency won’t be an option.
Zalmi could only score 100 more runs batting first, almost entirely on the back of Babar’s 46; Yasir Khan’s half-century helped the Sultans easily reach their goal.
Zalmi was rarely a threat with the ball and far from a batsman’s challenge, but their head coach, Darren Sammy, was still hoping for the trophy.
He stated, “So, we still have two more games to play,” leaving the door open to the prospect of participating in the championship game. “We’re going to move on from this, assess the opposition in the interim while we wait to find out what happens on Friday, and then return stronger.”
Usama Mir took advantage of the National Bank Stadium surface, which has favored spinners this season, by taking two wickets against Zalmi.
Even though the Pakistani leg-spinner did a great job in the middle, Sammy would have regretted leaving leg-break bowler Arif Yaqoob out of the Zalmi XI.
He remarked, “I mean, we could all talk about who we should have played in retrospect, but [Arif] Yaqoob was very close to playing on this surface.” “I mean, he’s had a tough time with spin.
As for decisions about team balance and other things, well, we could certainly take a look at them. Definitely, we’ll have a look at it in our upcoming game here.
But Sammy did not hesitate to express his admiration for Babar, who has led the club as captain the past two seasons in addition to being a batter.
Since joining this team, he has been exceptional, according to the former West Indies captain. “I’ve always been responsible for developing his leadership abilities. He’s progressing quickly, I must say. Some of the choices he has been making there have helped us to win.
GLAMOR FOR USAMA
With 23 victims to his credit, Usama has maintained his dominance as the leading wicket taker in the current PSL season.
The right-armer needs two more wickets to surpass pacer Hasan Ali’s record for most scalps in a season.
Usama’s triumph in the PSL follows a lackluster performance in the World Cup in India last year, despite expectations that he would perform well after finishing first in the country’s primary domestic one-day game, the Pakistan Cup.
The bowler from Sialkot said that a small adjustment to his bowling technique was the cause of his form decline, but that he has since corrected it and is once again enjoying success.
“I tried to carry over my performance from a World Cup warm-up match, where I flighted the ball more than usual,” he remarked. “But that didn’t last long, and I realized I needed to return to my original approach of using more pace and finishing my action, which is how I’m now taking wickets again.”
Usama expressed his excitement about playing for Pakistan in the forthcoming T20 World Cup, which will take place in the US and the West Indies in June.
But before that, he’ll be all focused on Monday’s PSL final.
