KARACHI: Karachi Kings batsman Colin Ingram will be in his comfort zone when he takes guard to bat on the National Stadium wicket for the first time in his career.

The left-hander, who has scored the only century in the Pakistan Super League’s fourth edition yet, termed the venue’s conditions similar to that of his home country.

“I thoroughly enjoyed seeing what I did see in terms of conditions because it actually looked a lot like South Africa,” said Ingram about Karachi during a press conference ahead of their match against Quetta Gladiators on Sunday.

“It looks like a great venue with a great wicket.”

Ingram will face the tournament’s fastest bowler Mohammad Hasnain in the match. Hasnain, who clocked 151kph in the UAE leg of the PSL, will be flanked by spinner Mohammad Nawaz and veteran left-armer Sohail Tanvir.

Ingram said batsmen are required to maintain consistent sharpness when they are playing in the PSL, due to the quality of bowling it boasts.

“The PSL requires you to be very sharp and on the top of your game every day mainly because the bowling attacks over here are one of the strongest in the world,” said the South African.

“There are some very skillful seamers around, a lot of left arm seamers which makes PSL different from other leagues. And each team has one or two really good spinners. In these conditions it makes batting very tough.”

Ingram was full of praise for his Pakistani colleagues and believed the country’s cricketers are very passionate about the game. The power-hitting southpaw said the local players ‘get very excited’ about playing the game.

“Cricket is a uniting factor here in Pakistan and that’s what sports should do,” said Ingram.

Published in Dawn, March 10th, 2019