'We need to be brave,' says Moeen as Kings suffer third consecutive defeat

KARACHI: Stand-in captain Moeen Ali urged Karachi Kings' batting unit to be "a bit brave" following their crushing eight-wicket defeat at the hands of three-time champions Islamabad United in the 25th match of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 here at the National Bank Stadium on Thursday.

Put into bat first, the home side could accumulate 150/6 in their 20 overs despite Reeza Hendricks's unbeaten half-century.

Hendricks top-scored with an unbeaten 51 off 44 deliveries and was involved in 50-plus partnerships with returning Jason Roy and wicketkeeper batter Azam Khan, who scored in excess of 30 runs, but the 2020 champions could not post a fighting total on the board despite losing only four wickets until the fourth delivery of the 18th over.

Moeen, who could contribute eight runs off five deliveries after walking out to bat at No.7 with only eight balls remaining, acknowledged the 2020 champions have been struggling since the PSL 11 action shifted to their home city and thus stressed the need for bravery by their batting unit.

"We have been pretty poor since we have been here. Some good individual performances, but generally our batting has been passive, and we have not been taking the game on," said Moeen at the post-match presentation.

"We need to be a bit brave, and we have a long batting line-up, so we need to use it as best as we can. Probably me, Khushi, and even Abbas can come up earlier," he added.

Moeen also provided an update on Kings regular captain David Warner, who has now missed two matches due to a back issue, saying that the former Australia opener was better and could be available in their next fixture, scheduled against Multan Sultans at the same venue on Sunday.

"Warner is better than yesterday and hopefully will be available for the next game."