Former Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razaaq was left disappointed by veteran all-rounder Shoaib Malik’s approach in Karachi Kings’ run chase against Multan Sultans in Pakistan Super League (PSL) 2024. Malik scored 53 runs from 35 balls in the run chase of 176 at Multan Cricket Stadium but Razzaq felt that he played for himself rather for the team.
"A player is someone who plays for a team," Razzaq told Geo News after Karachi Kings’ 55-run defeat in their PSL campaign opener.
While Razzaq hit five fours and two sixes and scored at a strike rate of 151.43, Karachi Kings suffered a batting collapse. Only two other batters scored in double digits. Skipper Shan Masood scored 30 runs from 31 balls whereas Kieron Pollard remained unbeaten for 28 runs from 29 balls.
When Malik departed, Karachi Kings were 99/3 in 13.2 overs. They needed 87 more runs to win from 40 deliveries against the Mohammad Rizwan-led side. In the slog overs, Mohammad Ali caused a batting collapse. Daniel Sams, Hasan Ali and Mir Hamza returned to the dressing room without scoring a single run.
Pollard who recently won the ILT20 2024 title with MI Emirates could not accelerate either as Karachi Kings posted 130/8. The loss had a big impact on their net run rate (NNR) early on in the tournament.
Earlier, Malik was impressive with the ball as well. The off-spinner conceded just 10 runs from two overs he bowled. While Rizwan was dismissed cheaply by Hamza, Dawid Malan's 41-ball 52, Reeza Hendricks' unbeaten 54-ball 79 and Khushdil Shah's 13-ball 28 cameo helped Multan Sultans post 185/2.
Rizwan hails coach and players
In the post-match presentation, Rizwan hailed his coach Abdur Rehman for being spot-on with his pitch-reading.
“We felt this was a good total. And our coach Abdur Rehman saab who is good at pitch reading told us it was a good total, sometimes I get it wrong. 180 was a very good total. We spoke to Malan who said we could go higher but credit to their bowlers,” he said.
The wicketkeeper-batter lauded his bowlers for restricting Karachi Kings batters and registering a big win.
“We have Pakistan's best power-hitters in Khushdil and Iftikhar but they bowled well. Credit to our bowlers and everyone chipped in. We don't have big names in our lineup but the way we executed was best. The plan is to get the boys together and I always think positive, Dahani got hit initially but came back well,” he added.
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