PSL 11: Captain Warner credits Moeen for Kings' victory over Gladiators

LAHORE: Karachi Kings captain David Warner showered praise on Moeen Ali for playing a pivotal role in their 14-run victory over Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 campaign opener here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Friday.

Moeen, who walked out to bat in the 11th over with the scoreboard reading 100/4, endured a challenging middle phase, dominated by the Gladiators spinners, but brought his experience into play at the backend and ultimately led the Kings to a formidable total of 181/7 with a quickfire cameo.

The left-handed batter top-scored for the 2020 champions with an unbeaten 48 off 29 deliveries, and was thus applauded by his captain, Warner, who revealed that the Kings eventually scored more than they were targeting.

"I think at the beginning we thought 170 was probably going to be par. We lost a few wickets in the middle there with a few poor stroke selections, including myself. But all in all, the way that Mo played in the partnership towards the back end to get us to a good total was fantastic," Warner said at the post-match presentation.

The Gladiators, set to chase 182, made a flamboyant start, courtesy of their emerging opener Shamyl Hussain, who struck a 21-ball half-century on his PSL debut, but the Kings' spin stocks, comprising Adam Zampa, Salman Ali Agha and Moeen, halted their progress.

The trio shared three wickets between them and collectively conceded only 62 runs in 10 overs, inspiring the Kings' comeback, which was later carried forward by experienced pacer Hasan Ali, who bagged four wickets.

Consequently, the spinners earned significant praise from their captain, Warner, who credited them for bringing the Kings back into the contest in the middle phase.

"I think the way our spinners operated in the middle, they bowled well to bring it back and build some pressure. We got the wickets and the rewards for that after the powerplay," Warner stated.

Warner further revealed that he was not concerned with the Gladiators' flying start to the pursuit, considering he had Zampa in his lineup, whom he hailed as a great addition to the Kings' arsenal.

"Obviously, with Adam Zampa, I wasn't concerned. It was just more about how we could execute to actually bring it back. I think by consuming some dots and only allowing them to get singles and maybe the odd boundary, that's how we try and build pressure to create wickets and chances. I think the way they did that was fantastic," Warner said.

"Zampa is a great addition to our team, and it's handy having Moeen Ali there to bowl some off-spin too," he added.

The left-handed opener then went on to assert that the Kings were full of energy despite the absence of the crowd in the stands.

"I think all the energy is going very well. We've played in times like this where there's been no crowd, and you can sort of fade away a little bit as players."