Islamabad’s Munro praises Iftikhar after record partnership

KARACHI: Islamabad United opener Colin Munro has said that he was aggressive but Iftikhar kept telling him to take it deep and that paid off against Karachi Kings on Monday night.

“The credit goes to Iftikhar. I have played a lot of cricket but sometimes you want to be more aggressive and you want to go after the ball every time. Iftikhar kept telling me . . . to stay on the pitch,” Munro said after United beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets to seal a place in the playoffs.

“We obviously complemented each other. Iftikhar batted beautifully, kept me calm in some situations there and it went well with the left and right combination,” he added.

Munro blasted a 56-ball 88 not out and added a record 150 runs for the unbroken third-wicket stand with Iftikhar, who blasted a marvellous 39-ball 71 not out as United chased the 191-run target with eight balls to spare after losing just two wickets.

Munro was extremely happy with the way he played a match-winning knock. “Yes, it was nice to score runs and to put a match-winning performance,” Munro said.

“I think the way we started with the ball was not great. The credit goes to them (Kings) the way they batted in the start, it was really really good. It kept momentum throughout the innings and I think the last two overs kept us in the game. Ali Khan, who could not bowl well in the first two overs, came back, bowled really well and put a little bit of momentum into the innings,” Munro observed. “Kings started very well with the ball, and put some pressure on us. Amir is a world-class bowler and Waqas bowled really well. And we knew that as new bowlers are coming in as well and we can take them down,” Munro said.

“It was really hot with a little bit of breeze . . . but there was humidity but I am enjoying it,” Munro added.

He said they have adapted well to the conditions of Abu Dhabi. “Yes, we have adapted well to the conditions.

“We don’t go out there for individual performances we just go out there to play for the team and play for each other,” Munro said.

He said that their main goal was to finish in the top two and play in the final.

United, with the win over Kings, stretched their lead to 12 points, two points clear of Lahore Qalandars with two games yet in hand.