Pacer Wahab Riaz was happy for Iftikhar Ahmed despite being hit for six maximums in an over at the hands of the latter during the exhibition match between Peshawar Zalmi and Quetta Gladiators on Sunday in Quetta.
Ahmed smacked Riaz for six sixes in the final over of the innings to ensure that Quetta finished on a high. The right-hander remained unbeaten on 94 runs in 50 balls.
Riaz claimed three wickets but conceded 47 runs in his full quota of four overs.
Taking to Twitter after the match, which the Gladiators won by three runs, Riaz said that he was disappointed over his bowling but was happy with the way Ahmed batted.
Chasing 185 for victory, Zalmi were restricted to 181-7 in 20 overs.
At the half-way mark, it seemed as if Zalmi would cruise to victory after reaching 109-1 in 10 overs.
However, Quetta picked up wickets at regular intervals towards the backend of the innings to stall their opponent's progress.
Opener Mohammad Haris, who played some stunning shots, top-scored with 53 runs in 35 balls.
Shahid Afridi and Babar Azam scored 25 and 23 runs, respectively.
Mohammad Hasnain was the pick of the bowlers for Quetta after bagging figures of 3-30 in four overs.
Meanwhile, Naseem Shah defended nine runs in the final over to get his side over the line.
- Iftikhar Ahmed