"Unfortunately, slogging is taking over proper batsmanship in cricket nowadays. I have told the dressing room that we need proper batsmanship to be successful in Karachi."
Sikandar Raza was not mincing words after Lahore Qalandars were bowled out for 100 by Islamabad United.
Islamabad chased down the target in 10.2 overs for the loss of just one wicket. It was Qalandars' second defeat in four games and caused a severe dent in their net run rate. One could afford some leeway to Qalandars as it was their first match in Karachi this season after three in Lahore. The difference between the pitches in the two cities has grown in the last few years, with batters going berserk on Lahore's featherbeds, but remaining more circumspect on Karachi's spicier surfaces.
But this game was not played on the typical Karachi wicket, notorious for slowness and assistance to spinners. It was the first match of this season on one of the two National Stadium pitches made from Australian soil. That was a change brought in under the chairmanship of Ramiz Raja, who had the soil imported from Australia to better prepare batters on bouncier, pacier surfaces. Unlike regular surfaces in Karachi, this surface was a batter's delight as United proved in their run chase and Peshawar Zalmi did later in the day, posting the season's highest total of 246.
Qalandars weren't undone by the conditions; their implosion underlined their struggle against spin this season. Against United, their top seven fell to spin and they scored only 50 runs in 12 overs from Imad Wasim, Chris Green, and Shadab Khan.
Two days later, on the same pitch, Qalandars folded for 97. Michael Bracewell and Sufyan Muqeem ran riot in the middle overs as Qalandars slipped from 52 for 3 to 69 for 7 in four overs. Qalandars scored at 5.40 against 10 overs of spin, while their opponents Peshawar Zalmi made 90 from nine. This pitch, despite hosting a second double-header in three days, still offered value for shots and runs (in the evening game, Hyderabad Kingsmen chased down Karachi Kings' 188 with five balls to spare).
Defending champions Qalandars are among the most successful PSL franchises, with three titles in the last four years. But their troubles against spin this year is becoming a severe problem. They are averaging 15.47 and striking at 111.68 against spin (until April 12) this season. No team has fared worse. Qalandars have never averaged lower against spin in any PSL edition and their strike rate was only marginally worse in 2019, when it was 111.16. They have (at least) five more matches to improve those numbers.
It is the middle overs, where spinners often operate in tandem, that have proved most challenging for Qalandars. Seventeen of their 21 wickets lost to spin have been in this phase at an average of just under 13.
There is a massive difference in how they have fared against spin in Karachi as compared to the other teams. The overall batting average against spin in Karachi is 22.62 and the strike rate 131.75. But the corresponding values for Qalandars nosedive to 7.84 and 77.27.
Karachi seems to have amplified their ordeal but all it has done really is to shine a light on a more persistent problem. Adam Zampa's incredible spell of 2 for 11 in four overs, which included a maiden during the Qalandars-Karachi Kings clash in Lahore, was brushed aside because it was played on a worn-out surface that was hosting a fourth match in two days. And spinners did not have much of a say in their contest against Multan Sultans, which was curtailed to 13-overs-a-side because of rain.
Go back, however, to the opening night of this season in Lahore, when Qalandars blasted their way to 199 for 6 against Hyderabad Kingsmen. While none of Kingsmen's quicks went at less than nine an over, the spinners Saim Ayub and Hassan Khan completed their quota of overs with economy rates of 7.75 and 7.50. Even Marnus Labuschagne, a part-time spinner, bowled his three overs at 8.66.
There is also a difference of almost a run between the overall average against spin (28.92) at the Gaddafi Stadium and how Qalandars (27.87) have fared. Their strike rate, however, has been marginally better - Qalandars' 140.25 to 138.75 overall.
After a strong start to the season, Qalandars are slipping down the points table. They play Quetta Gladiators, a team with Pakistan's two premier spinners in Abrar Ahmed and Usman Tariq, next. While the pair may not have done as well as expected, Gladiators' captain Saud Shakeel has been chipping in with crucial wickets of late. It presents another opportunity for Qalandars to start figuring out how to tackle their spin problem.