In their previous Pakistan Super League match on Thursday, the Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi were defeated by Islamabad United by six wickets. When given the opportunity to bat first, the Zalmi scored a total of 156/8 in 20 overs, with their skipper leading the way with a 75 off 58 balls. Later, the United mocked the target by bringing it home in just 14.5 overs. Rahmanullah Gurbaz hit 62 runs off just 31 balls. Rassie van der Dussen struck 42 runs in 29 deliveries to help the United win by six wickets.
Babar Azam, the team’s captain, received a lot of flak despite contributing a solid performance for his team. But when questioned about it in the post-game news conference, Pakistan’s captain had a humorous response for the reporter.
“Or how often does the strike rate occur? A 300 kar lein? How much better do you want it to be? Why not 300? I’m also attempting to go there), “said Babar.
Babar Azam responds to a question about his strike rate.#HBLPSL8 | #PSL2023 | #PZvIU pic.twitter.com/J5WIImXrLx
— Grassroots Cricket (@grassrootscric) February 23, 2023
The journalist went on to clarify and said Babar is a class player but he can improve his strike said. On this Babar said that it does’nt matter and When I bat with a decent strike rate, others start talking as well. I was striking at 160 in the first 10 overs, and when we were 6 down, you don’t focus on raising your strike rate at that point; instead, you create a partnership.
“When you gain momentum, you aim to maintain it for as long as possible, unless one or more wickets fall to you or you are unable to hit. After the 10-over point, I intended to form a partnership since I informed Shanaka that we would play regularly for the next 15 overs before taking the lead. Then we lost back-to-back wickets, which caused the SR to decrease even though the score was still 150 “Added he.
In the current PSL season, this was Peshawar Zalmi’s second loss. They will now face Lahore Qalandars in their upcoming match on Sunday.
