Error of judgement costs Karachi place in PSL final

In hindsight, it all boils down to whether skipper Sangakkara made wrong call

DUBAI: Darren Sammy’s Peshawar Zalmi became the second team to reach the final of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) second edition after defeating Karachi Kings by 24 runs at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

The play-off tie was divided into two halves: the first one where wicketkeeper-batsman Kamran Akmal registered a stunning century to make a strong case for his comeback in the national side, and second one was Kings’ stop-start show.

Kumar Sangakkara and his team’s tournament had some major ups and downs, but coming into the last game, many termed them as favourites after they registered three back-to-back wins.  However, looking back at what unfolded on Friday night, the 39-year-old might go home with a feeling that perhaps it was his error of judgement which cost Kings in the end.



It was the veteran Sri Lankan who won the toss and decided to bowl first against a team which traditionally finds hard to deliver under pressure while chasing.

When asked about his decision in the post-match press conference, Sangakkara seemed unsure about what he could’ve done in the beginning.

“It’s actually both ways,” he said. “Yes, they have players who crumble under pressure, but the tournament pattern was such that team’s preferred chasing than setting a target. I thought the same way at the time of the toss, but to be honest, it’s always an added pressure to chase down the target in a knock-out game.”



After being set the target of 182, which would have been Kings’ highest chase if they would’ve achieved it, Sanga’s frustration was evident as the Karachi side made a hash of the chase.

“We should’ve scored more runs,” admitted Sangakkara. “We were just not good in the first six overs. Chasing 180 plus, you have to score at least 45 or 50 maybe, but we were just not good enough.”



The facial expression of the Sri Lankan legend tells the story of a man who looked exhausted, and who must have been thinking about the what ifs.

A lot of credit must be given to the stylish left-hander for taking a disjointed Karachi team within a touching distance of the grand finale, but it was his call to bowl first that proved to be the difference in end.