David Warner shared some sharp words regarding decisions made by his opposite captain in a Pakistan Super League match between his Karachi Kings and Shaheen Afridi’s Lahore Qalandars, not mincing his words as he pointed out a mistake made by the Pakistan seamer.
After Karachi had beaten the Qalandars in a rain-affected match, chasing down 168 with three balls to spare in a tight 15-over chase, Warner was questioned about team selections at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Warner and the Kings took in a seam-heavy attack into the match, while Shaheen and LQ opted for as many as three spinners for their own bowling combination.
When asked if he would revisit his decision at the toss, the experienced Australian opener stuck to his guns. “No look, I would have stuck with it. I think Shaheen said it was going to turn. Not one ball has turned in three games here. So I was baffled by those comments,” said Warner, not holding back on what he saw as a mistake from his opposite captain.
After being put in to bat, Qalandars had a rapid start in the first 8 overs, scoring 91/1 before rain interrupted play. Kings were able to claw back after that point, setting themselves a DLS target of 168 in the allotted 15 overs.
Warner’s Kings overcome Shaheen’s Qalandars in rain-shortened game
Warner opened the batting with a fast start alongside Tim Seifert, particularly target left-arm orthodox bowler Asif Afridi in the powerplay and forcing Shaheen to turn to his seam options. Qalandars found themselves in control of the chase, but a flying partnership between player of the match Irfan Khan Niazi and Mohammed Nabi saw them score 41 runs off the 13th and 14th overs, bowled by Pakistan internationals Shaheen and Haris Rauf.
Shaheen had to turn to the medium pace of Daryl Mitchell for the final over, not trusting his spinners and perhaps showing that Warner had gotten it right, while Lahore had gotten the decision wrong on their own turf.
“For us, you’ve got to back yourself, and that’s the way our team is positioned at the moment,” added Warner. The win helped Karachi leapfrog over Lahore into third place in the table, with both teams fairly confident of a spot in the playoffs but eyeing up a top two finish to book a berth in the Qualifier match.
