Quetta handled pressure better than us: Hafeez

All-rounder says Peshawar, like last year, succumbed in crunch situation

DUBAI: Pakistan veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez on Wednesday congratulated Quetta Gladiators for beating his team Peshawar Zalmi, which he believes happened because Sarfraz Ahmed and his side handled pressure better than them.

“Congratulations to Quetta who were able to control their nerves under pressure as we needed only 20 runs off three overs,” Hafeez told The Express Tribune. “We, on the other side, unfortunately were not able to finish the match like in the last edition.”

The 36-year-old said that T20 format is always a battle of nerves. “In T20s, you see different kind of matches; sometime a low target is difficult to chase, whereas, sometimes, teams successfully chase mammoth targets, so it's all about handling pressure.”



Talking about his 77-run knock in the first qualifier Hafeez said that he gives preference to teams’ victory over personal performances.

“I don't play for personal accolades, however, the team management really appreciated my effort,” he said. “I was putting in a lot of hard work but the things were not working. My team backed me and they believed that I'll perform for them when they need it the most.”



Hafeez took just 47 balls to score 77 runs courtesy six maximums and five boundaries during Peshawar’s 201-run chase against Quetta.