Wahab Riaz slams Peshawar Zalmi after losing to Islamabad United

Peshawar Zalmi captain Wahab Riaz has slammed his side’s performance after losing a high-scoring encounter against table-toppers Islamabad United.

Riaz stated that his side were pathetic in the field, despite their opposition being a bowler short.

Islamabad posted the highest total in HBL PSL history, 247/2, and registered victory by 15 runs after a spirited batting performance by Peshawar.

“I’m just speechless. I think we were very pathetic in the field when we won the toss and bowled first knowing they were a bowler short. We should have restricted them to 160-170. The attitude wasn’t there,” said Riaz after the match.

“We rested [Mohammad] Irfan and knew there was something there for the spinners. The guys who have been playing continuously should know what the plans are and they didn’t stick to the plan, not according to the fields. The ball was always in the slot,” he added.

Meanwhile, Islamabad United’s stand-in captain Usman Khawaja, who was leading the side in place of the rested Shadab Khan, scored a century, unbeaten 105 off 56, and was named player of the match.  

“It was enjoyable to bat 20 overs. It was a great team effort because we had a lot of players not playing so it’s very satisfying. I’m not trying to take anything away from our bowlers because they put in a great effort, but Shadab was resting. We knew we were probably going one short on pace. The wicket was really good,” said Khawaja.