Under­li­n­ing his team’s batting collapse in their last match was a result of fearless approach, Islamabad United captain Shadab Khan vowed they would put up an improved show in the remaining HBL Pakistan Super League matches. Third-placed United — with three wins and two losses in five games so far — in their next match face Karachi Kings, placed fifth, here at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Friday. “Though United’s record here at the Pindi Cricket Stadium is not that good, this time around we will show good performance to improve our record at our home ground,” Shadab said during a pre-match new conference on Thursday. “Because of our fearless approach, our batting collapsed against Lahore Qalandars,” the leg-spinning all-rounder said, referring to the massive 110-run loss his team suffered at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore last Monday.

Shadab emphasised captaincy did not affect his performance noting United had been displaying top-notch performance in the PSL in the last couple of seasons. Commenting on Kings’ below-par performance in PSL-8, he said they were big franchise who know how to come out from such situations. “Therefore, we will go all out against them tomorrow,” he said. The Kings, the 2020 PSL champions, slipped to fifth with four points in seven PSL-8 matches with a narrow 24-run defeat against Zalmi. On Wednesday night, Kings’ wicket-keeper/batter batter Matthew Wade expressed confidence in his team’s ability to make it to the playoffs, terming their last three matches important.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan-INP