'Tough one to swallow,' says Marnus Labuschagne after fourth straight defeat

KARACHI: Hyderabad Kingsmen captain Marnus Labuschagne admitted his side were left to rue a missed opportunity after falling agonisingly short of victory in a tense finish to their latest fixture.

Following the post-match presentation, the Australian batter expressed his disappointment after watching his team edge close to sealing the game, only to see it slip away in the final moments.

“That’s a tough one to swallow,” Labuschagne said. “I think we got so close that it almost felt like it was there, and then Ifti [Iftikhar Ahmed] played a nice shot in that last over and sort of brought things back in their favour.”

Reflecting on his side’s efforts during the closing stages, Labuschagne praised the bowlers for keeping the contest alive and highlighted their tactical discipline under pressure.

“We tried to use our two time violations so we could keep talking, get our field placements right, put our best fielders in key positions, and make sure we did all the small things correctly,” he explained.

“So much credit has to go to our two fast bowlers who bowled the last four overs. Sometimes it doesn’t go your way, but that was an unbelievable finish to keep us in the game.”

The top-order batter also conceded that his team have yet to produce a complete performance this season, pointing to inconsistency with the bat despite flashes of strong play.

“I’ve said to the boys before, I don’t think we’ve played a full match yet where we’ve put everything together,” he said. “Against Multan, we scored 230 and put it together with the bat. Today, we didn’t – we lost six for two.”

He concluded by crediting individual contributions, particularly the middle-order recovery and a spirited bowling display that nearly turned the match in their favour.

“But once again, KP [Kusal Perera] played an amazing innings and got us into a position, and we built a partnership through the middle. Then we produced an unbelievable bowling display to almost take the win,” he added.

Batting first, the Kingsmen slumped to just 145 runs in 18.2 overs, largely thanks to a dominant spell from Peshawar’s spin duo, Iftikhar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem, who strangled the middle overs.

Hyderabad’s top order offered little resistance: Maaz Sadaqat made 17, Saim Ayub 14, while Sharjeel Khan and Usman Khan fell cheaply for two and a golden duck respectively.

Kusal Perera was the lone bright spark, striking a fine 58 off 35 balls, including five fours and two sixes. Labuschagne contributed a run-a-ball 27 with three boundaries, while Irfan Khan and Hassan Khan managed nine runs apiece. Maheesh Theekshana and Hunain Shah were dismissed for ducks.

In reply, Peshawar Zalmi laboured during the chase but eventually reached their target off the final ball of the 20th over. Iftikhar Ahmed (15 not out) and Aamer Jamal (6 not out) kept their composure to seal the win.

Skipper Babar Azam top-scored with 43 off 37 deliveries, hitting six fours, while Kusal Mendis and Michael Bracewell added 27 and 25 runs respectively to keep the chase on track.