LAHORE: Karachi Kings captain David Warner praised his team’s effort after a five-wicket win over arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars in the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 at Gaddafi Stadium on Thursday.
The Kings aced a 200-run target on the third ball of the penultimate over, largely due to an unbeaten partnership between Khushdil Shah and David Warner.
The duo added 57 runs off just 19 balls with Khushdil finishing on 44* off 14 deliveries, while Warner remained unbeaten on 63 runs.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Warner hailed the collective effort, highlighting the team’s performance in different phases of the game.
“That was a great performance by the guys. Up front with the new ball, the first couple of overs were okay, but we know in the powerplay it can get away from you a little bit,” he said.
“That wicket all around was good with the new ball; I think both teams bowled very well with it. But all in all, what a fantastic finish. You know, Moeen coming in and then Khushdil; we’ve been speaking to him about how his time would come when he gets that opportunity,” he added.
Warner scored an anchoring half-century, and unlike his aggressive strokeplay, he found fielders on multiple occasions.
“Yeah, look, and it only just happened by chance. I was a little bit frustrated; I kept on hitting fielders and then faced the last ball of the over, but that’s the game of cricket. I’ve played a lot, but I just know that one guy is going to come in and play that sort of cameo,” he explained.
The skipper remained confident of the team’s playoff chances ahead of their final game against Quetta Gladiators, which will be played on April 25 at the same venue.
“That’s where last year we were going really well. Hopefully, we come out here next game and win that one to give ourselves a chance. Yeah, to do that against a world-class bowler is phenomenal,” he continued while praising Khushdil Shah.
“It just shows you that in this game, if you put pressure back on the bowler, it doesn’t matter who it is, they can succumb to that. That was serious execution at the end there,” Warner concluded.