Sarfaraz credits Guptill, bowlers for win over Kings

KARACHI: Quetta Gladiators skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed lauded his bowling unit and Martin Guptill for the way they helped the side to notch a close win against Karachi Kings in their second round outing of the HBL PSL 8 here at the National Stadium on Saturday night.

“Thanks God we achieved the first win in the event. We staged a solid fightback as the way we had 50 in ten overs and the way Guptill played, I think it was a rare exploit in the PSL,” Sarfaraz told a post-match news conference.

Set to defend 168, Gladiators restricted Kings to 162-5. Earlier, Guptill hammered 117 off 67 balls to take Gladiators to 168-7. Quetta were 23-4 at one stage. However, Guptill and Iftikhar Ahmed (32) shared 69 runs for the fifth wicket before the New Zealander went for big shots in the last five overs which yielded 76, including 30 coming in one over of Andrew Tye.

“Guptill carried the team throughout and when we needed hitting he did that and I think it was an outstanding innings,” Sarfaraz said.

“I will also praise all my five bowlers for the way they bowled in conditions which were not easy for bowling. In the end the way Naseem, Hasnain and Odean Smith controlled their nerves was outstanding,” he said.

“Last five overs are very important whether you bowl or bat and from there a teams gain momentum. We did well in bowling in the last five overs and in batting we scored around 70 in the final five overs,” he said.

Asked about his top order's performance, Sarfaraz said the top order including Guptill and Jason Roy play aggressively.