PSL 2022: There was pressure but I backed my skills – Wahab Riaz on bowling Super Over against LQ

Peshawar Zalmi captain Wahab Riaz admitted that there was pressure when he decided to bowl the Super Over but he backed his skills against Lahore Qalandars in the 30th match of the ongoing Pakistan Super League 2022 at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore on Monday.

It looked like that Peshawar Zalmi will easily win the match as Lahore Qalandars needed 24 runs in the final over to chase down 159 runs. But, Qalandars captain Shaheen Shah Afridi turned the tables as he scored 23 runs in the final over to take the game into the Super Over.

However, Wahab Riaz took the onus of bowling the Super Over on his shoulder and conceded only five runs. Riaz bowled accurate yorkers in the Super Over to keep Harry Brook and Fakhar Zaman at bay.

In fact, Riaz was also the pick of the Zalmi’s bowlers as he had conceded only 19 runs in his quota of four overs and he had accounted for Haris Rauf and Mohammed Hafeez, who had top-scored for Lahore Qalandars with 49 runs in the run-chase.

Wahab Riaz was delighted with his own performance after he was named as the Player of the match for his fine show with the ball.

Riaz said in the post-match presentation, “There was pressure (in the Super Over) but I backed my skills and thankfully, was able to restrict them to a score we could chase easily. (On Shaheen’s knock) These things happen in T20 cricket, you never know. There was some pressure on the bowler, but that happens. Haris has made a lot of difference to our team from the day he has joined. Hopefully, he will keep improving further. When you need just six to win, it’s important to send batters who can hit singles, that’s why we went with Shoaib and Haris. Singles are really important in this tournament at this stage with the pitches starting to slow down”.

Despite the win, Peshawar Zalmi finished at the third spot as Lahore Qalandars had a better NRR. Peshawar Zalmi will face Islamabad United in the Eliminator on Thursday at the same venue of Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore.