Babar Azam takes Lanka Premier League 2023 by storm, videos show his mad following in Sri Lanka
In a shock victory over B-Love Kandy on Monday at the R. Premadasa Stadium, Colombo Strikers earned their first victory in the Lanka Premier League 2023.
Naseem Shah and Matheesha Pathirana's outstanding bowling efforts allowed the Strikers to limit Kandy to a modest score of 130-8 after they had scored 157-6 in the first innings. They each took five wickets while allowing only 43 runs in eight overs.
The Strikers' innings was kept together by Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, who scored 59 runs off of just 52 balls on a challenging batting surface.
Babar Azam commented on his team's performance, saying, "When we started the inning, the pitch was acting a little bit two-paced. Then I understood that forming a partnership would be preferable. After 10 overs, I believed the surface would begin to favour the spinners, and after 15 overs, I believed we would attempt to charge the opposition.
The surface was behaving a little tough, so the goal was to bat as deep as possible. To our benefit, everyone chipped in. He also praised the bowlers for doing a good job. However, I firmly feel that the bowlers who stood out should receive the accolades."
"Naseem Shah gave the performance that stood out to me. His opening pitch set the tone for the entire inning and gave us the lead, according to Babar.
The side from Kandy found it extremely challenging to handle the all-out pace and tight periods from both spinners. "It was our first win of the tournament, and certainly it gives us the momentum we need for the rest of the tournament," said Pakistan's standout bowler, Naseem Shah, who appeared quite pleased with the initial victory. From here on out, we want to keep doing this.
The team's head coach, Simon Helmot, gushed over them and stated, "We were a little unhappy in the first encounter because we didn't receive the win we believed we deserved. It was definitely a brave batting performance today. Babar's decision to bat so deeply and give us a respectable total of 157 just demonstrated his class and maturity in the face of the challenging scoring conditions on the wicket.
The fielding and bowling, as well as the fervour on the pitch and the captain's dexterous decision-making, in my opinion, were especially beautiful. This, in my opinion, resonates with the Colombo Strikers brand. We battle fiercely, field fiercely, and bowl precisely every time we on the field, and I believe we did that tonight.
The same sentiment was echoed by Captain Niroshan Dickwella, who added, "We should all learn from the greatest. Although it was difficult to bat on the wicket, Babar's ability to stay on the pitch till the very end helped us to post a respectable total. Additionally, I want to thank everyone for their excellent work.
After his team's impressive performance, Colombo Strikers team owner Sagar Khanna said, "With our first win under our belt, I am confident that the team will leave no stone unturned to make it a memorable debut tournament for us."
The next Colombo Strikers game versus Dambulla Aura will start at 3:00 PM IST on August 5.