KARACHI: Darren Sammy’s smiling face during the just-ended HBL Pakistan Super League (PSL) became a familiar feature during the month-long tournament.

And although Peshawar Zalmi were dethroned by Islamabad United during the landmark final at the National Stadium — which was bursting at the seams with more than 33,000 cricket enthusiasts in attendance on Sunday night — Sammy took a lap of honours with his team-mates.

“The people in this part of the world love cricket. I have thoroughly enjoyed playing both in Lahore and here in Karachi. The crowds were very supportive of what they saw. The whole atmosphere was electrifying tonight and though we didn’t win the final, which was pretty disappointing, I think we did quite well to win four knockout matches to reach this far,” the former West Indies captain while talking to reporters.

“The guys put their heart and soul after many had written us off during the middle part of the tournament. I’m really proud of my team.

“Islamabad deserved to win [the title] because we didn’t score enough runs upfront and then our bowling failed to click in the opening overs and that allowed Luke Ronchi to score freely. He [Ronchi] was the difference between winning and losing.”

Sammy hoped that with more matches in Pakistan, the PSL would generate more crowd than before.

“I think that is what PSL needs. We’ve seen low turnouts during the UAE leg but the three games in Pakistan were houseful, which is great for the competition.”

Meanwhile, Islamabad United’s stand-in skipper J.P. Duminy also commended the staging of the final in the city of lights after his team sealed a three-wicket victory.

“Yeah, everybody was charged up for the occasion tonight, players and the crowd who had come in big numbers. Many of the guys had not played in front of a huge turnout and here we saw they had come to enjoy a great match,” Duminy said. “The overseas players who travelled to Pakistan really appreciated the top-class arrangements made for the final here. This is a wonderful place to tour and play because the people are very loving and proud of their heroes.”

Duminy singled out Hussain Talat and Asif Ali — both of whom on Monday were named in Pakistan’s squad for the coming West Indies series — for special praise.

“I was really impressed at the way these two performed for us. Asif was brilliant in the final and the sixes [three on the trot off Hasan Ali] he struck changed the game in our favour. He could be a good asset for Pakistan in T20 cricket,” the South African remarked.

“Hussain is another fine cricketer who, with a good head on his young shoulders, can be developed into a decent all-rounder,” underlined Duminy.

Published in Dawn, March 27th, 2018