LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi skipper Babar Azam on Sunday was not happy with the way his bowlers bowled against Quetta Gladiators in their HBL PSL 9 opener here at the Gaddafi Stadium.
“Our entire bowling line up was not upto the mark,” Babar told a post-match news conference. “Fast bowlers were getting some help earlier on but if you don’t bowl accordingly you cannot take benefit of it. Our emerging fast bowler (Zeeshan) bowled very well in the powerplay but we did not get a good bowling partnership and we lost the first six overs and when you cover it up it becomes difficult then. Salman Irshad bowled well but we could not finish it well,” Babar said.
He also conceded that they missed a specialist spinner. “Yes we missed it today, you can say,” Babar was quick to add. Peshawar Zalmi on Sunday lost to Quetta Gladiators by 16 runs in their PSL opener.
Quetta Gladiators, powered by fifties from Jason Roy (75) and Saud Shakeel (74), posted a good total of 206-5. Zalmi were then restricted to 190-6 despite fine batting from Babar (68) and Saim Ayub (42) who both opened the innings.
Asked why he slowed down after powerplay, Babar said that at that stage two wickets had fallen and he wanted to build a partnership. “I and Cadmore planned that two to three overs we will go with eight runs per over. We utilised the powerplay well and were playing our cricketing shots,” Babar said.
He appreciated the way rookie pacer Mohammad Zeeshan bowled. “He did well. He gave a good start. He was confident and acted as per advice and this thing is very good,” Babar said.
“He will get polished as he goes onwards,” he said. “When we came to the pitch there was moisture on it. It looked fresh. The best option is to bowl first and then you get an idea how the wicket will behave. It could be different. Our plan was to bowl first keeping in view the weather and conditions but we conceded more runs,” Babar said. “We wanted to restrict Quetta to 180 and we could have chased it,” he revealed. Babar said for winning a trophy they will need to deliver in every zone.
“It is our responsibility to recover quickly. We bowled and batted well in patches but as a team we will have to improve further. For winning trophy you need to deliver in all three departments of the game,” Babar said.
“This season we have tried to bring maturity in our bowling but I will say if you don’t execute the plans it will be of no benefit. If as a player you read the situation quickly then you will bowl well. We will talk to the bowlers how to bowl in these conditions,” Babar said.