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Karachi Kings skipper David Warner took a dig at Lahore Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi after his side edged their arch-rivals in a rain-hit PSL 10 thriller at Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday night.
While he was all praise for his team’s effort in the four-wicket win, the Australian couldn’t resist taking a cheeky dig at Lahore captain Shaheen Shah Afridi’s pitch assessment.
Lahore Qalandars, in a shortened 15-over contest, posted a strong 160/8, a total powered by blistering half-centuries from openers Mohammad Naeem and Fakhar Zaman.
Naeem led the charge with a fiery 65 off 29 deliveries, smashing six fours and five sixes, while Fakhar chipped in with a 33-ball 51 featuring four boundaries and three maximums.
In response, Karachi Kings chased down a revised 168-run target with three balls to spare, thanks to a breathtaking unbeaten 48 off 21 balls from Irfan Khan Niazi.
But what caught the attention after the match was Warner’s pointed response to Afridi’s pre-match pitch prediction.
“Shaheen said it was going to turn, but not one ball has turned here in three games,” Warner said with a grin. “I was baffled by those comments.”
While Lahore went in with a spin-heavy attack, David Warner backed his decision to stick with four pacers.
“I stuck with it [pace attack]. You’ve just got to back yourself. Our bowlers have been fantastic, they’ve been taking wickets, and right now there’s probably no room for an extra spinner,” he explained.
The subtle jab came after Afridi had earlier remarked that the surface would assist spinners, something that clearly didn’t unfold as expected, especially after the rain altered the conditions.
Despite the banter, Warner had glowing praise for his players, especially Irfan Khan, who turned the match on its head with his fearless batting.
“It was an amazing victory. First, I want to talk about the bowlers, they did a great job of restricting them to 160,” Warner said.
“And then obviously it was a brilliant effort by [Irfan Khan] Niazi. We stuck with him and spoke to him about having that hunger and desire, and today, the way he played was the cream on the top.”
With back-to-back wins under their belt, Karachi Kings are now eyeing a top-two finish as they head to Rawalpindi for their final group matches against Peshawar Zalmi and Islamabad United on May 8 and 10.
“We’ve pulled off a miracle today,” David Warner said. “Momentum is with us. Now the goal is to carry it into Rawalpindi and finish strong.”
READ: Shaheen Afridi remains unfazed after thrilling loss against Karachi Kings
