'Tough to digest,' says Rizwan as RawalPindiz suffer third consecutive defeat

LAHORE: RawalPindiz captain Mohammad Rizwan acknowledged three consecutive defeats as a tough pill to swallow following their Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 derby against three-time champions Islamabad United here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Saturday.

Put into bat first, the tournament debutants could accumulate 156/7 in their 20 overs despite an anchoring half-century by Kamran Ghulam, and it marked a rare batting failure for the team, which scored in excess of 190 in each of their first two matches.

In turn, the United comfortably chased down the total for the loss of just three wickets and 34 balls to spare and climbed to the second spot in PSL 11 standings, pipping defending champions Lahore Qalandars.

Reflecting on his team's third consecutive defeat, Rizwan highlighted that they have been dealing with different shortcomings in each of their matches before crediting the opposition for taking an early control of the recently concluded fixture.

"Losing three out of three is obviously tough to digest – no team likes losing," said Rizwan at the post-match presentation.

"The key learning is that things have been a bit different this time; in the last two matches, our batting clicked, but today our powerplay didn't go as planned.

"Credit to the opposition as well, but more than just the powerplay, I think the real damage was done early when they got swing and picked up wickets - we were probably 20-30 runs short right there."

The wicketkeeper batter insisted that his side desperately needed just one victory, which would change the momentum, while asserting that it was difficult to point out one flaw before vowing to keep working on their shortcomings.

"Overall, it's about gradually fixing things; three games have gone by, and it's not easy to point out one issue because when you cover one area, problems can arise elsewhere. What we really need is one win - that can change momentum and things start falling into place," Rizwan continued.

"We will keep working on our mistakes, like in the previous games where our depth was helping us, but today we had to adjust differently. At this stage, it's about showing courage and bouncing back - that's what champion teams do," he added.

Despite their flop show with the bat earlier today, bowling has been the department that needs improvement for the Pindiz as they failed to defend a 190-plus total twice, while injuries to pacers Zaman Khan and Naseem Shah made the case worse, and their captain stressed that it has affected their balance.

"We do have experienced players in the dugout, and while we've made changes in every game based on the opposition, injuries to key players [like Naseem Shah and Zaman Khan] have affected our balance," Rizwan said.

"That said, we're not using that as an excuse - the changes are tactical, based on the opposition, and we will keep adapting as we move forward," he concluded.