• Home
  • Who Said What
  • We Failed To Babar Azam Breaks Silence After Humiliating Psl Opener Loss Vs Quetta

"We Failed To…," Babar Azam Breaks Silence After Humiliating PSL Opener Loss vs Quetta

Kaushik Kashyap

Babar Azam after loss against Quetta. [Source - crickwick/x.com]Babar Azam after loss against Quetta. [Source - crickwick/x.com]

It was a poor day in the office for Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi in their first match of PSL 2025 as they were thoroughly outplayed by Quetta Gladiators on Saturday afternoon in Rawalpindi. Quetta put on a brilliant batting display, setting a formidable total that put Zalmi on the back foot after the first innings.

Captain Saud Shakeel alongside Finn Allen batter with purpose and flair, while the middle-order added valuable runs to capitalise the early surge to push the total past 200. In response, Zalmi failed to put up any kind of fight and crumble against some disciplined and accurate bowling.

Abrar Ahmed was the pick of the bowlers for the Gladiatiors as he took four wickets in his four overs spell and eventually the Gladiators sealed the victory by bowling Zalmi out for just 136.

Babar Reacts To Crushing PSL Opener Defeat

Speaking at the post-match presentation, Babar Azam reflected on the defeat, admitting his team fell short in key areas, particularly early in the powerplay which kept them behind in the game for the rest of the game.

"We failed to execute out plans in the first six overs, and that’s where the game changed. We covered up afterwards, but couldn’t finish well," Babar said.

Babar further added that the surface in Rawalpindi became tougher for batting as the game progressed, but refused to use it as an excuse, calling it a collective batting failure in chasing the target.

“The behaviour of the pitch changed a bit in the second innings, the ball started staying low and was slower. It is not an excuse, but we failed to build partnerships and kept losing wickets at regular intervals,” Babar added.

Peshawar Zalmi will be disappointed with the way they played in their season opener and after such a humiliating loss, which could impact their confidence early in the tournament. They will now aim to turn things around on Monday against defending champions Islamabad United and get their campaign up and running.