Wily old fox Sami still has it in him

Sami took three wickets to turn a game Islamabad United were losing against Lahore Qalandars.

That wily old fox was at it again. He may be 37 but Mohammad Sami is still fit as a fiddle and showed he still has it in him.
The medium pacer snapped up three wickets, including two in the last over to turn a game Islamabad United were losing against the Lahore Qalandars. The man from Karachi nudged it into a Super Over, the Pakistan Super League's first, and then made a telling blow in the one-over eliminator as well.
And after Islamabad United won the face-off against the Qalandars at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium late into the night, Sami said that he had been part of quite a few matches like this and was delighted to end up on the winning side. "I've been a part of quite a few matches like this but we managed to win this one and I'm quite happy about it," said Sami.
Sami said that the key was to not get bogged down by the pressure and just concentrate on bowling the next ball. "The thinking was such that and even the coaching staff said that even if it was a good ball or a bad ball, just concentrate on the next ball," he said. "We had lost two matches and even tonight (Friday), we didn't have such a big total. But during the break, the coaching staff gave us confidence and said that with the bowling strength that we have, we could defend the total. So, we put in the effort and left the rest to God. And it worked out well in the end," added Sami.
Islamabad United notched their second victory from four fixtures but Sami said that the team were not getting carried away and were just taking it one game at a time.
"The final is still a long way away but considering the rhythm that we have got, we will try to focus on doing well in the next match. There are still six matches left and if we start thinking ahead, it would a bit of a problem. So, we will take it match by match," Sami said.
Sami also said that his love and passion for cricket is what has kept him going. "I still loving playing cricket and I keep working on my fitness and want to stay fit," he said. - james@khaleejtimes.com