Sadiq Mohammad, the Karachi Dolphins coach, speaks exclusively to PakPassion.net in the aftermath of his team's defeat to Sialkot Stallions in the thrilling semi-final of the RBS Twenty/20 Cup.

By: Saj Sadiq

07 March, 2010

Sadiq Mohammad, the Karachi Dolphins coach, speaks exclusively to PakPassion.net in the aftermath of his team's defeat to Sialkot Stallions in the thrilling semi-final of the RBS Twenty/20 Cup.

Sadiq Mohammad, the Karachi Dolphins coach referred to his team's defeat in the RBS Cup semi final against Sialkot as "only a game of cricket and one of those things". However the disappointment in his voice was clearly audible and it was evident that he was frustrated with some of his team's batsmen and their shot selection at the National Stadium Karachi, the night before.

Chasing a target of 150 in front of a crowd that was fully behind the home team, the Dolphins seemed to be clear favourites at the half way stage. However with four wickets down and the score on only 22, the game had tilted in the favour of the Shoab Malik led Stallions and it would take a super effort from the likes of Fawad Alam, Shahzaib Hasan and Shahid Afridi to turn things around for Karachi.

A mixture of some reckless cricket and fantastic bowling and fielding from Sialkot ensured a 7 run victory in one of the best games of the tournament.

Sadiq speaking to PakPassion.net stated that messages were being sent to batsmen out in the middle, but the messages were not being taken on board.

"We sent a message out to Shahzaib to keep his cool after his great start. He had given us a great start and we wanted him to try and stay there in the middle for 10 overs. However, despite the messages he lost his concentation and gave Sialkot their first wicket and the boost that they needed".

Former Pakistan opening batsman Sadiq stated that a gameplan was clearly outlined for his team, before they started to chase the score of 150 needed for victory. "I said to the boys that you are facing experienced, international bowlers, don't disrespect them, play each ball on merit and don't try to smash every delivery out of the park. These are not club bowlers who you can smash around at will".

"Asif hurt us with his opening spell and to lose 3 wickets with the score on 21 was hard to take. Nonetheless I still felt that with our batting lineup and the fact that we had successfully chased down scores previously in the tournament, we could go on and reach the score of 150".

Sadiq continued "Shahid (Afridi) went in at number six which I thought was ideal for him. I wanted him to stay calm and to try and disturb the line and length of the bowlers. As an experienced international player he should have realised that the Sialkot fielders were all on the edge of the circle and his aim should have been to look for quick singles, to bring in the fielders and then try to hit over the top. Instead he went for one shot too many. We sent messages out to him to stay cool and not to bat in a wild manner. He was nearly caught the ball before his dismissal and then eventually he was dismissed".

Sadiq when asked if the captaincy controversy had caused any disharmony in the squad, especially after Shahid Afridi's recent statements to the media at his disappointment in being overlooked for the Dolphins captaincy, stated "Sami was skipper in the Quaid E Azam Trophy for the Karachi Blues and we went on and won that tournament. He (Sami) did a very good job, working with myself and the team managament and tactically he was excellent. He got the best out of the players and he set a very good example all of the time, giving 100% effort in all of the Quaid E Azam trophy matches. The Karachi cricket association management decided to persevere with Sami as captain in the RBS Twenty/20 Cup as they felt that it would have been unfair on Sami to drop him as skipper".

Today's final sees the Faisalabad Wolves come up against the Sialkot Stallions and Sadiq feels that the Stallions will be the team that lifts the trophy. "Sialkot have in Shoaib Malik, a very good captain, they have a very powerful team with no obvious weakness and their fielding has been of a higher standard than the other teams. I fully expect the Stallions to be champions today".