Sammy upset with Zalmi’s batsmen

LAHORE: Peshawar Zalmi head coach Daren Sammy was not happy with the way his batsmen batted against Karachi Kings and stressed they will need to be more responsible as a batting group.

“We did not bat well today,” Sammy told a post-match news conference. “It’s good Babar continues to do what he has been doing. Congratulations to Babar for achieving the fastest 10,000 T20 runs milestone. We just have to be more responsible as a batting group,” said Sammy, a former West Indies skipper.

Peshawar Zalmi lost their second successive match of the HBL PSL 9 when they were downed by Karachi Kings by a convincing seven wickets margin here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Wednesday.

Peshawar Zalmi posted 154 thanks to Babar Azam’s fine knock of 72. Karachi Kings chased the target with 19 balls to spare after losing three wickets in the process. “Normally on good pitches you need better bowling. During the last two years PSL has been a high-scoring league in terms of runs. So it says that the pitches here are normally good for batsmen. If you get six specialist batters and then all-rounder coming in and that is really what we want,” said Sammy when asked about his team’s batting depth.

Sammy said that 175 to 180 would have been par score on this track. “You know if you lose three wickets in the powerplay you lose 60 percent. At half way stage they had 80 when a partnership was built between Babar and Rovman Powell and we got ourselves to a very good position on that surface,” he said.

“Having said that over the last two games watching our batting, overs number 11 to 15, on both time, we got 38 runs while the opposition scored 56 in that period,” Sammy pointed out. “Such little moments of the game could affect the entire situation,” he said.

“I have been in this franchise for the last nine years. It’s not how you start but it’s how you finish. People say we have been the most consistent team. We need to win five or six games to get to the playoffs,” Sammy said.

He hoped that his charges will stage a fightback. “I have full confidence in the guys in the dressing room. We have to play eight matches. On coming 17 hopefully you will be talking to me after the match,” he said.

Asked if he thought Zalmi’s middle order needed to be reshuffled, Sammy said: “Look, you got experienced Babar, Saim and I think in the last PSL they were the best openers. Again in the first game they started very well. In the powerplay we have been up there and again Haris has not scored runs and Tom has not scored runs,” he said.