Dubai: Quetta Gladiators opener Ahmad Shehzad, who top scored with 54 runs and put on a 105 runs partnership with Asad Shafiq to steer his team into the play-off stage through an emphatic six-wicket win over Karachi Kings, attributed his team’s success to the positive spirit in the squad.

“We have a tremendous dressing room environment. We have a wonderful management. I have never experienced such an environment. I have played in different leagues but I have never seen such a management and a team atmosphere in my entire life.”

Shehzad then went on to elaborate the reason behind it. “We just back each other and the management we have with big names like Moen Khan (head coach) makes it special. I am a big fan of him (Moen), the way he conducts himself. The players, they absolutely love him. Our manager Asam Khan plays a special role. He has been doing a wonderful job with the foreign players because it can be very difficult to manage the foreign players. I will also give credit to Abdul Razzaq (assistant coach). We have all grown-up watching players like him hitting sixes and wining matches for our country and when they are sitting with us in the dressing room and just boosting us up, there will be no negativity. We are selfless, and we are trying to play fearless cricket. We have a very clear mind and the credit for it goes to the whole team and the management.”

Speaking about his team’s poor show and on star batsman Chris Gayle’s unusually slow innings, Karachi Kings skipper Kumar Sangakkara, said. “It was a very disappointing performance today, especially with the bat. We had a great start again but could not capitalise — we left about thirty runs out their on the field and that made it hard.”

On Gayle’s sedate 29, Sangakkara candidly said: “He (Gayle) tried his best to hit the ball. I think it was just a case where he forgot to rotate the strike if he was not hitting it well. He tried his best, unfortunately the little left-arm spinner (Hasan Khan) bowled pretty well to him.”

Brief scores: Quetta Gladiators bt Karachi Kings by six wkts. Karachi 154 for 6 in 20 overs (Babar Azam 36, Kumar Sangakkara 28, Chris Gayle 29, Kieron Pollard 31; Anwar Ali 2 for 30, Mohammad Mahmudullah 3 for 21). Quetta 158 for 4 in 19 overs (Asad Shafiq 51, Ahmad Shehzad 5;, Sohail Khan 2 for 28). Man of the match: Mohammad Mahmudullah