'They outplayed us,' says Shadab as United suffer defeat against Zalmi in Qualifier

KARACHI: Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan acknowledged his counterpart Babar Azam's blistering century helped Peshawar Zalmi outplay the three-time champions in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11 Qualifier here at the National Bank Stadium on Tuesday.

United skipper Shadab's decision to field first in the high-stakes fixture backfired as the table-toppers piled up a mammoth total of 221/7 in their 20 overs, courtesy of Babar's record-equalling ton.

Babar dominated United's bowling attack and top-scored with a blazing 103 off just 59 deliveries, smashing 12 fours and four sixes.

He was supported by fellow top-order batters Mohammad Haris and Kusal Mendis, who chipped in with brisk 35 and 41, respectively, while all-rounder Aaron Hardie added valuable runs at the backend with a 10-ball 20.

Reflecting on his team's performance, Shadab stressed that they gave away around 25 extra runs before crediting Babar for taking the game away from them.

"Finishing in the top two is important because it gives you another chance. We prefer chasing and have backed it, but I still feel we gave away 20-25 extra runs. In a chase like this, momentum is everything, and when you keep losing wickets, you lose that momentum," said Shadab at the post-match presentation.

"The way they played, they outplayed us, especially the way Babar batted - he took the game away from us," he added.

In turn, the three-time champions could muster 151 before getting bowled out in 18.4 overs and thus succumbed to a gruelling 70-run defeat.

Although United made a spirited start to the pursuit and were levelled with Zalmi in terms of runs at the halfway mark, a middle-order collapse derailed their chances, and their captain, Shadab, insisted that their batters got out at the "wrong" time before stressing the need for improvement in execution.

"The pitch was good, we started well in the powerplay, but our set batters got out at the wrong time. It's part of the game, but we need to improve our execution in both batting and bowling," Shadab stated.

Despite the defeat, United will have another chance to book their spot in the final as they will face the victors of the Eliminator 1 between Multan Sultans and Hyderabad Kingsmen in Lahore on May 1.

"The advantage of finishing in the top two is that we still have another chance, and we will look to win the next match. Adaptability is important because every venue and pitch is different, and we will have to adjust in Lahore and come back as a strong team," Shadab concluded.