Proud of my boys: Andy Flower

KARACHI: Multan Sultans’ head coach Andy Flower is very happy with the way his side came from nowhere and went on to win the HBL PSL-6 maiden trophy at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Thursday night.

“I am very proud of my boys,” Andy said after his side overwhelmed Zalmi in the final.

“They performed sensationally. Actually I think the best thing about winning this trophy is that we came back from nowhere,” Andy said.

“We lost four of our five matches in Karachi and I think most of the people had written us off. Importantly I don’t think anyone in the dressing room had written themselves off. We came back from that and inched our way back and got into the top two as the top two positions obviously are very important for getting into the final and we did that,” said Andy, a former Zimbabwe skipper.

“And I think the boys under pressure today performed outstandingly well. I think the ball swung and moved around and bounced a bit in our innings and you can see why Zalmi put us in and you know even with Shoaib Malik and Rutherford’s blasts in the third part of their innings and our guys were under pressure and they dealt with it brilliantly,” Andy said.

He appreciated the effort of skipper Mohammad Rizwan. “Really proud of Rizwan as captain and also Shan Masood who reacted like a true champion . . . the way he carried himself after losing the captaincy at the end of the last PSL,” Andy said.

“I am very proud of everyone involved, very happy for our owner Alamgir Tareen. He handed real support throughout,” he said.

He also lauded Zalmi’s efforts. “Zalmi are very well-led. They have got a rich history of getting into the playoffs and finals as this was their fourth final. And led by two great guys Mohammad Akram and Darren Sammy I obviously feel for them today. They had smiles on their faces at the end of the game and they have done a great job for their team,” he said.

Commenting on his team’s make-up, Andy said: “We did talk about the factor that we had very little to lose by playing aggressive cricket but I would say that the team make-up was such that we didn’t have an all-rounder. Sohail Tanvir is at No7 and he played a couple of very important innings. So batsmen had to do their job as there was no one backing them in the lower order.

“I think you could go with a lot of individuals but Rizwan was sensational with the batting in Karachi. Sohaib Maqsood, when he got his three spot in batting order, he batted brilliantly and forced his way back into the national squad which is a great effort.I am very happy for him,” Andy said.

“Sohaib was sensational. He came through under pressure on most occasions and that’s wonderful to see. I hope he goes to international games and does something similar,” Andy said.

“There are serious challenges happening all over the world. People are getting sick, losing loved ones, having income drastically cut, and all sorts of hardships around the world. I think everyone feels very fortunate to be gainfully employed,” Andy said.

“This surface has provided a really fair challenge for everyone, batsmen and bowlers, and we have seen some sensational cricket. I hope that Pakistan cricket is growing through everyone’s exposure in the PSL. I would like to congratulate PCB for rearranging PSL on short notice, putting such a great show on,” Andy said.