On 2 March 2023, Lahore Qalandars locked horns with Quetta Gladiators in the ongoing Pakistan Super League in Lahore. It was the 18th match of the tournament and Quetta Gladiators opted to bowl first after winning the toss. All eyes were on Sarfaraz Ahmed and his men as they were looking for the second win of the season.
The Qalandars batted first and scored 148 runs in 19.2 overs. Sikandar Raza was the lone warrior as he scored 71 runs off 34 balls, including eight fours and three sixes. He batted at a strike rate of 208.82. For Quetta Gladiators, Mohammad Nawaz and Naveen-ul-Haw took two wickets each while Umaid Asif, Odeon Smith, and Naseem Shah took one wicket each.
“He has a strike rate of 100 today; you aren’t going to win games like that.” - Waqar Younis on Sarfaraz Ahmed
In reply, Quetta Gladiators lost their five wickets for 80 runs in 13.1 overs. Still. Fans were hoping for a solid batting performance from the skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed. But, he disappointed his fans as Sarfaraz scored 27* runs off 28 balls, including just one boundary. Thus, they managed only 131 runs for seven wickets in 20 overs and lost the match by 17 runs. For Lahore Qalandars, Haris Rauf took three wickets for 22 runs in four overs. Apart from him, Rashid Khan grabbed two wickets and David Wiese took one wicket.
After seeing such slow innings from the former Pakistan skipper, fans were not happy and shared their views on the social media platform. Even, the former Pakistan pacer, Waqar Younis blamed Sarfaraz Ahmed for such innings. He claimed that any batter batting at number six with a strike rate of 100 can not win a game for his team. He said: “A man who comes in at number six is supposed to be a finisher with a strike rate of 150 or 160. Sarfaraz has a strike rate of 100 today; you aren’t going to win games like that.”
Here are some tweets to slam Sarfaraz Ahmed for his slow innings against Lahore Qalandars in PSL 8:
The amount of Hate for Sarfaraz Bahi for no reason at all!!! 🤷🏻♀️🤦♀️
— Farah⁷ (@Farah_Tweets07) March 3, 2023
Na unhona kabhi apka "favorites" ka baray mai kuch ghalat kaha... Phir bhi itnee trolling 😒
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.#SarfarazAhmed
Sarfaraz Ahmed the President of United States 🇺🇸
— Nisit Kakkad (@niks_kakkad) March 3, 2023
#QuettaGladiators
— Hamza Ali🇵🇰 (@HamXaAli2290350) March 3, 2023
Sarfaraz Ahmed should resign respectfully from capataincy.If team owner dont ask him to resign then it dnt mean that he is agree with his performance..May b as a player he can do better for team.@TeamQuetta#PSL2023
Because of poor batting and captaincy of Sarfaraz Ahmed. https://t.co/eSdQoPkPMs
— Usman Satti (@usmansatti476) March 2, 2023
Teri batting dekh ke pak gaya tha isliye mai iss bar Pakistan nahi aya
— Arnav Singh (@Arnavv43) March 2, 2023
- Sir Viv Richards to Quetta kaptaan Sarfaraz Ahmed #PSL2023#LQvsQG pic.twitter.com/B2T2xrzt6H
Sarfaraz Ahmed ko 3 baar batting karwate to bhi last 5 over mai 50 nahi mar sakta
— P G (@PGTruthteller) March 2, 2023
Captain Sarfaraz ahmed Angry Comeback Software Update Shutup Haters Batting Too This Shall Stay Stronger Comeback💔 Hard Luck Quetta Lost Captaincy It Doesn't Matter Rumors M.Rizwan Poor Performance in Injured Once Again Better than Bkwas Haters PCB Charmain or Cheap Najam Nethi
— Agenda Peddler || Rant Account (@NoleStanAccount) March 3, 2023
Sensational bowling by Quetta but batting is too much slow,very pathetic batting by Martin guptill and Sarfaraz ahmed.Real disappointment #PSL08 #LQvsQG
— Saifi's Fan (@saifis_fan) March 2, 2023