- Sarfaraz Ahmed is the captain of Quetta Gladiators.
- He was criticized after his team lost to Lahore Qalandars.
- The Gladiators lost their run-chase momentum in response to the large target.
Sarfaraz Ahmed, the captain of Quetta Gladiators, came under fire after his team lost to Lahore Qalandars, the defending PSL champions, during their match on Tuesday at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi.
When Lahore Qalandars were given the opportunity to bat first, they set a lofty 199-run target before holding the Gladiators to 135-8 in 20 overs.
Despite having a really impressive squad, the Gladiators have not been performing to their highest potential thus far. The team features Martin Guptill and Jason Roy, two of the best batters in the world.
The team is currently ranked fourth on the points table despite having dropped three of their four games.
After the Gladiators’ underwhelming performance, fans criticised their captain Sarafaraz on the microblogging site Twitter.
There are so many things that are wrong with this Quetta team and one of them is Sarfaraz himself not knowing where to bat. In the 4 games that QG have played so far, Sarfaraz has batted at 4 different batting positions.
— Shafqat Shabbir (@Chefkat23) February 21, 2023
Quetta Gladiators batting misfiring once again. Unsettled line-up and batting order, for example Sarfaraz Ahmed has batted at 4, 5, 3 and 8 in the four matches so far #PSL8 #QGvLQ
— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) February 21, 2023
Shaheen Afridi taking first over wicket & Sarfaraz hiding behind the tail.
Some things never change. pic.twitter.com/nOEJAdqxCO
— Nas (@__NasXX) February 21, 2023
After Jason Roy left, the Gladiators lost their run-chase momentum in response to the large target. In quick succession, they lost Mohammad Nawaz, Iftikhar Ahmed, and Mohammad Hafeez.
Fakhar Zaman was the recipient of Iftikhar’s errant shot. In 10 balls, he could only manage six runs. Later, Mohammad Nawaz (2) was defeated by Sikandar Raza in the subsequent over. The shot that the left-handed batter skied ended up in Kamran Ghulam’s hands.
Veteran batter Hafeez was the next to leave the field but was unable to do so because Shaheen, the captain, had successfully caught his skying shot. In 22 balls, the right-handed batter scored 25 runs.
Odean Smith was dismissed by Shaheen after he took a blinder. Smith misjudged a slow ball and was caught by Rashid.
As Qais Ahmed was out after scoring nine runs in his final over, the captain struck once more.
Earlier, after the two batters assisted the Gladiators in overcoming an early deficit against the Qalandars, Martinn Guptill and Roy left the game in quick succession.
Roy, a destructive batter who scored 48 runs off of 30 balls, was bowled out by Rashid Khan after just seven deliveries for the defending champions.
Abdul Wahid Bangalzai was trapped for a lbw by Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi, who then sent him back to the pavilion.
Bangalzai, a rookie batter, was dismissed for a golden duck.
After the Gladiators suffered an early setback, Guptill and Roy contributed a 47-run partnership for the second wicket to help them recover.
Guptill scored 15 runs, but David Wiese, an all-rounder, dismissed him.
Shaheen and Wiese each claimed three wickets for the defending champions, while Rashid and Raza each claimed a victory.
[embedpost slug=”sarfaraz-ahmed-win-over-kings-is-credited-to-naseem-and-hasnain/”]
