LAHORE: Hyderabad Kingsmen captain Marnus Labuschagne praised his side’s effort after sealing a dominant eight-wicket win over Multan Sultans in the Eliminator 1 of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11.
Kingsmen first delivered with the ball, limiting a strong Multan Sultans batting lineup to 159 in 20 overs. In reply, they chased down the 160-run target with ease, losing two wickets in the process and 28 balls to spare.
Usman Khan and Maaz Sadaqat starred with gutsy half-centuries, scripting a remarkable comeback for a team that lost their opening four games of the tournament.
With this win, they booked their place in Eliminator 2 and will play Islamabad United on May 1, at the same venue.
Speaking in the post-match presentation, Marnus Labuschagne mentioned the management and owners, lauding a special win.
“It is really hard to put into words what it means for the franchise, the owners, the team, and the sports staff for us to be here: it is really special. We put a lot of work and time into making sure we came prepared today,” he told the presenter.
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“We played really well especially with the bat and tried to come a few new ideas and a little bit of prep. It is nice that it came off today. [On bouncing back after the defeat to United] We actually addressed it today because I felt when we won that amazing game against Multan we were so high. We probably just expected to go and do the same thing the next game,” he added.
The skipper praised his players for staying composed under pressure, saying trust and communication were vital in T20 cricket, where bowlers are bound to have difficult overs.
“It is just great when you have guys in whom you can put your faith. In T20 cricket, you are always going to have a bad over and be put under pressure. But it doesn’t matter because you can just trust them and communicate and they trust that process.”
“I am so proud of the guys from where we were – not winning a game over the first four games and then finding our feet in back half of the tournament and really making a push,” he concluded.
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