KARACHI: New Zealand’s experienced batsman Colin Munro entered the PSL 8 for Islamabad United following a lean patch with the bat in the inaugural ILT in the UAE recently.
Leading Desert Vipers, the left-handed batsman did not seem much impressive, scoring just 209 runs in 12 matches at an average of just 17.41 which included just one fifty.
But the T20 expert scored a match-winning 58 for Islamabad United who on Thursday night downed Karachi Kings by four wickets here at the National Stadium. And the 35-year-old Munro was extremely happy with his fine knock.
“I think today coming into the tournament after leaner runs from ILT, as I did not score enough runs for my standard. It’s nice to get a score and contribute a winning performance,” Munro told reporters in the post-match news conference.
“For me now it’s all about training and being positive. For me when momentum is good I am watching the ball clearly,” Munro said. He said they put pressure on Karachi Kings bowlers which paid dividends on a wicket which was double-paced.
“The wicket was little bit two-paced to be honest and there was little bit of luck. The way we went out and tried to be aggressive and put the pressure on the bowlers was outstanding,” said Munro who scored his eighth PSL fifty.
“With the nature of the wicket there was some grassy patches and some barren and the way the ball landed really behaved differently,” he said.
He praised hard-hitting wicket-keeper batsman Azam Khan who also did a fine job with the bat by scoring 44 in United’s win.
“We see him (Azam) as an amazing (cricketer). I wonder why he is not in the Pakistan team. I have also been told by some overseas players about him but he is one of the best batters in the country and I wonder why he is not in the national team,” Munro said.
He said that it was his first day at Islamabad and he found the environment competitive. “It’s tough for the selectors to form the playing XI as there are a few best overseas players on the bench,” he said.
He said that 173 was a par score. “I think 173 was a par score, to be honest. The wicket was little bit two-paced. Haider played really well and put on a good score for them. The way Rassie played after he got going, it took pressure off me and we built a good partnership and when Azam came it was another good partnership,” Munro said.
Munro added 59 for the third wicket stand with Rassie van der Dussen and then put on 56 for the fourth wicket with Azam Khan.
“This is the beauty of this game. If you think about yourself it will put pressure on you but if you think about the partnership it gets the pressure off you as an individual and you think about what your team needs at that time,” he said.
He also praised PSL standard. “There is a lot of fast bowling here. Ihsanullah last night bowled very fast. I think it's the nature of the wicket, too, nice and skiddy and the ball comes even faster. It’s a tough tournament to play because you get different conditions. The crowd is amazing. It’s one of the better tournaments. The quality of cricket is phenomenal,” Munro said.
