Amin upset over Peshawar Zalmi’s narrow loss

KARACHI: Peshawar Zalmi's senior batsman Umar Amin on Friday was seen disappointed over his team’s narrow loss against Multan Sultans in a crucial HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2020 match here at the empty National Stadium.

“We should have won this game. We should not have lost this game while coming too close,” Umar told a post-match news conference here at National Stadium late Friday night.

Chasing 155 Zalmi required 15 off the last over from Ali Shafiq and four off the last delivery but Adil Amin failed to manage a stroke, leaving his side to lose by just three runs.

Zalmi, who finished with nine points, will now depend on the outcome of the other matches.

Umar said that Adil Amin was playing his first game in the event and it could not be demanded more from a young boy in such a tense situation.

“If a player (Adil Amin) who did not play in the entire tournament and today he was playing his first game. In such a pressure situation you cannot demand from a young boy. Still he took the game very close. We needed 15 runs in the last over and lost by just three runs. He made an effort but could not succeed,” Amin said. The left-handed batsman said that there is no panic following the pull out from their five key foreign players.

“The best thing in our team is that our reserve players were so competent that it was always very difficult for our management to form a final eleven. There is no such thing that we are under pressure or there is any panic. If we are able to qualify for semi-finals then you will get a good match,” Amin said.

To a query he said that skipper Wahab Riaz went to bat at number three as per team strategy.

“As far as Wahab Riaz’s decision to promote himself in the batting order is concerned, it was a team strategy and Wahab’s decision. He wanted to go in top of the order to bring the opposition into pressure through attacking display,” Amin said. Amin said that it looked strange to play in empty stadium.

“In front of the empty stadium it was a bit strange today as we have been playing the PSL matches amid huge crowds,”he said. He said if his team got more matches in the event he would try to live up to the billing.

“In the current scenario I can hardly get two more matches. The world lives on hope. Yes if got those two matches then effort would be made to perform,” he conceded.