Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net, Karachi Dolphins opening opening batsman Khalid Latif spoke of his hopes that his impressive form in the Super 8s Twenty20 Cup will have been noted by the Pakistani selectors. Read more...

By Saj Sadiq (2nd April, 2012)

The Faysal Bank Super 8s Twenty20 final at the Rawalpindi stadium on Sunday turned out to be yet another triumph for Pakistan’s Twenty20 specialists the Sialkot Stallions but another heartbreaking defeat for the Karachi Dolphins, their sixth twenty over final defeat.

The match played out in front of a jam packed stadium with a fantastic atmosphere, as well as a worldwide audience was the finale to a highly entertaining tournament and one that showcased Pakistan cricket at its best. 15,000 smiling and dancing fans were crammed into the Rawalpindi stadium, with many thousands also outside unable to obtain tickets for the highly popular event.

The final turned out to be a relatively comfortable victory for Sialkot, as their experienced captain Shoaib Malik and the extremely impressive young left handed batsman Haris Sohail shared an unbroken partnership of 119 runs to take them to an 8 wicket victory, chasing down Karachi Dolphins’ total of 167 with 7 balls to spare.

It was another heartbreaking defeat in a final for Karachi and one that their opening batsman Khalid Latif who scored 81 from only 59 deliveries feels they can learn from and come back stronger from. Latif specified where he felt the match went wrong for Karachi. Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net Latif also expressed his hopes that his impressive form in the Super 8s Twenty20 Cup will have been noted by the Pakistani selectors.

“I went into the Super 8s tournament having scored 325 runs in five matches in the National One Day Cup at an average of 82.25. I was top of the averages in that particular tournament, so yes I was full of confidence going into the twenty over competition. Prior to the National One Day Cup I had not been at my best in the Quaid E Azam Trophy and I was quite worried about my form. However I worked hard ahead of the 50 over competition and the results were good” stated Latif.

Latif added “The Super 8s Cup is a very high profile tournament, all of the players want to do well in it. The tournament was being shown around the world and it was a fantastic opportunity for Pakistani cricketers to showcase their talent in front of a huge audience. You are up against the best bowlers in Pakistan, all the best cricketers are competing hard and it’s a very high standard of cricket. It was very satisfying from a personal perspective to do well and I’m really pleased that I performed well in the Super 8s.”

The Karachi Dolphins’ batting line up had some ferocious firepower which proved to be too hot to handle for the Lahore Lions in the semi final, but Latif stated that his game plan was a measured, specific one and a controlled one, not necessarily based on all out attack.

“Despite there only being twenty overs at your disposal, you still have to be controlled at the crease. There are gaps available to the batsmen and you do not necessarily have to slog or hit out. It’s better to play cricketing shots and by all means hit the ball over the top in the power play overs, but what is equally important is to find the gaps. My plan was simple, if a bowler bowls a good delivery, try to time it and pierce the field. No bowler can ever bowl a good delivery to you throughout his spell and my philosophy was that if a bad ball was there to be hit, then I wanted to make full use of it and hit the ball over the top and try to unsettle the bowler’s line and length. In the batting power play our plan was to unsettle the opposition bowlers and to aim for 50 to 60 runs in those 6 overs.”

Latif was the highest run scorer in the Super 8s Cup scoring 243 runs in only 5 matches, at an average of over 60 and at a strike rate of over 132, but he felt that his opening partner Shahzaib Hasan also played a very important role in their successful first wicket partnership in the Super 8s Cup.

“Shahzaib and I have a very good relationship and a good understanding. We’ve played a lot of cricket together and we are always discussing our plans and cricket in general. He’s a very aggressive batsman and sometimes I just need to have a word with him to control the aggression, but Shahzaib is a very good batsman and when he scores quickly at the top of the order, it relieves the pressure on the rest of the batting line up” stated Latif.

Continuing his views on the Karachi game plan Latif stated “The Karachi Dolphins’ game plan was very reliant on the opening stands. Shahzaib and I wanted to ensure that we gave our team the best possible and most positive starts. The combination of Shahzaib and I was ideal in my opinion, as he would go out all guns blazing and I would play a more controlled innings. Shahzaib was the main aggressor and I would bat with a little bit more caution when Shahzaib was scoring quickly. Our plans were also that if Shahzaib was out early then I would try and bat the full twenty overs and the other batsmen would bat around me.”

The defeat for Karachi was difficult to take as it was their sixth Twenty over final defeat and some Karachi fans were questioning the mental toughness of the players. Latif though pinpointed some mistakes as the reason for the defeat but also stated that he felt that the Dolphins would bounce back from this defeat to the Stallions.

“It was our sixth defeat in a twenty over final and yes it’s hard to take. We made some mistakes which cost us the match against Sialkot, but it was a high pressure match and we made a couple of errors that were very costly. Every time we have lost in a final we have come back in the next tournament and tried to bounce back and to learn from our mistakes. To reach six finals is the sign of a very good team, one of the best teams. The reasons for the six defeats are as I said some mistakes and some bad luck too, but I am certain that we will bounce back and we will put this run of defeats in the final behind us and I feel that once we have won a twenty over final once, we will continue to keep winning the trophy.”

Pinpointing the mistakes against Sialkot Stallions in the final in Rawalpindi, Latif felt that the last over of the Karachi innings where they lost 4 wickets was vital, together with the explosive Sialkot opening batsman Imran Nazir being dropped in the outfield.

“In the last over you have to go for your shots especially if you have wickets in hand, but what would have been more beneficial for our team would have been if my batting partners had taken a single and given me the strike. Overall I think we never made enough runs in the last 3 overs of our innings and fell 20 runs short of a very good total and one that could have been too much for Sialkot. However I have to give credit to the Sialkot bowlers, they were experienced and had international cricketers like Rana Naved, Shoaib Malik and Abdur Rehman and they kept it very tight, especially at the end of the innings. The Sialkot bowling line up was a much more experienced one than our attack and that ultimately was one of the key reasons for the defeat.”

Latif continued “Despite the lack of runs in the last 3 overs, 167 was a very challenging total, but we needed to take our chances and sadly we did not do that. Dropping the chance that Imran Nazir offered was vital and he punished us with his innings of 41 off only 20 deliveries. If we had taken that chance then the match could have been a lot different. I also feel that our bowlers could have bowled better and kept things tighter. The channel that our bowlers bowled in was not always the right one and Imran Nazir was allowed to give Sialkot a good start and then Shoaib Malik and Haris Sohail batted very well together. Malik utilised his experience fully and controlled the Sialkot innings. Our bowlers tried their best but it wasn’t good enough unfortunately.”

Latif’s last appearance for Pakistan was the twenty20 world cup semi final in May 2010 against Australia in the Caribbean when he scored 13 off 6 deliveries, as Mike Hussey inspired Australia to a 3 wicket victory with one delivery to spare. Latif though hopes that his performances in the Super 8s Cup will be a timely reminder to the selectors.

“Any cricketer wherever he may be, his ultimate dream is to play for his country. That dream burns bright for me and will never diminish. My aim is always to perform well whenever I get the chance and for whichever team it is for. I’m also really pleased that during a high profile tournament like the Super 8s I have been able to play good cricket. I’ve worked very hard to improve my batting and my ambition to play for Pakistan has never been stronger. The rest is up to the selectors, it is their job to select the teams and I am sure they will select the best players available to them. Of course I’m hopeful that I will get another chance in future to play for my country.”