(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Peshawar Zalmi captain Darren Sammy said that the rare quality of sticking together and being like a family is what has helped them swim through choppy waters.
Peshawar Zalmi's title defence had hung on a delicate thread towards the business end of the HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL).
They needed to win both their remaining fixtures to make the play-offs and Peshawar Zalmi did that in some style, defeating the Karachi Kings on Thursday and Lahore Qalandars at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium on Friday.
And Sammy was chuffed with how his men responded to the challenge.
"It was tough but you know when the situation gets tough, we stick together as a team. We are like a family and it is the same attitude we carry always and that is what want. It was a do-or-die situation for us and the players responded," said Sammy.
Sammy said that they wouldn't have liked to have left it so late but injuries played a part in their up-and-down performance.
"Obviously, you see what's ahead of you. Obviously, we would have loved to have qualified with two games to spare. We had to deal with a few injuries at the start of the tournament. But I must commend the guys in the squad. We have been playing with injuries but we have managed to come through it. What we have taken now is the first step," he said.
Opener Kamran Akmal scored a century, the first in this edition, and Sammy was delighted to have such a match-winner in his ranks.
"It was an excellent hundred, especially in a T20. Considering the situation, it was a do-or-die game and we were chasing such a total, it was an outstanding innings from Kami (Kamran Akmal). MIsbah
Haq once told me that the great Imran Khan had said that 'never drop your match-winners. Akmal has won three out of 10 matches for us which is astonishing. You can't ask for more," said the West Indian. "Tonight, you saw Kami (Akmal) on one leg and he won us the game. He had seen his captain do that, the other night. My job is to inspire young players and it is not about my individual performance," he added. Meanwhile, Sammy's opposite number Brendon McCullum reflected on an average tournament for them but said there were quite a few positives, especially the performance of the young players.
"We were very disappointing during the tournament. We obviously had done well in the draft but we took too long to find our feet. But we kind of finished well. Maybe we could made the changes a bit earlier. Had it worked earlier, we would have been sitting elsewhere on the table," said McCullum. "The last 10 days has been positive. Agha Salman, Sohail Akhtar and Shaheen Afridi, they performed well over the last 10 to 12 days. We were under a bit of pressure after those defeats so for these young guys to do so well, these are positives that we can take and it augurs well for the future," added the Kiwi.
What beautiful batting: Malala Apparently, Malala Yousafzai - Pakistani Nobel laureate and education activist - is a Zalmi fan and took to Twitter to congratulate the team on their tremendous victory. She was also particularly impressed with Kamran Akmal's batting. Zalmi pacer, Wahab Riaz, even extended an invitation to the young laureate to come out to support the team for the playoffs:
Thanks Malala you should come out to support your team for the plays offs - Wahab Riaz (@WahabViki) March 16, 2018 Peshawar face Quetta on March 20 in Lahore.
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