'Ye kahi Rizwan aur Babar ko neeche aane pe force na kar de': Sehwag on PAK star
Pakistan produced a phenomenal outing in the T20 World Cup match against South Africa, beating the side by 33 runs (DLS) to keep their chances for a semi-final berth alive. Iftikhar Ahmed and Shadab Khan played brilliant half-century knocks, with the latter reaching his fifty in merely 20 deliveries to take Pakistan to a strong score of 185/9 in 20 overs. In the run-chase, the Proteas were left in a spot of bother after the early wickets of Quinton de Kock and Riley Rossouw and by the time rain interrupted the play, lost the dangerous-looking pair of Temba Bavuma (36) and Aiden Markram (20) as well.
With a revised target of 142 in 14 overs, the South Africa batters failed to stitch another dangerous partnership as the side could only reach 108/9.
Also read: 'You never know which Pakistan...': Shoaib Akhtar makes cheeky remark amid rain-marred PAK vs SA tie at T20 WC - Watch
While Shadab and Iftikhar stood out with their fifties, a young Mohammad Haris also impressed with his explosive stay at the crease after the early wickets of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam. In fact, Rizwan was dismissed on only the fourth ball of the match; undeterred by the early blow, however, Haris took on the South African bowlers as he raced to 28 off just 11 deliveries, hitting two fours and three sixes.
The early momentum certainly helped Pakistan even as the side lost Babar and Shan Masood in quick intervals following the dismissal of Haris, as Iftikhar, alongside Mohammad Nawaz (28), had a strong run-rate cushion to stitch a 52-run stand and steer Pakistan out of trouble.
Former India opener Virender Sehwag spoke in detail about Haris' knock in the game, stating that the player might force one of Babar and Rizwan to come down the order if he continues with the same intensity.
“Jis tarah se inhone ballebaazi ki hai, unka future bright hai. Aap South Africa ke against, Australia ki wicket pe... bhale hi 28 run banaaye hain, par vo 60 ke baraabar hain. Jis gati se vo khele hain, agar aaram se khelte, vo out nahi hote aur apne run bana lete, par jis andaaz se khele, kamaal hai. (The way he batted, his future is bright. He took on South Africa on Australian pitches. He might have scored 28, but they're no less than a 60. He could played slowly, could have scored his own runs, but the way he played, incredible),” Sehwag said on Cricbuzz.
“Agar aise hi khelte rahe, ye kahi Rizwan aur Babar ko force naa kar de ki aap neeche aaiye, main aata hu upar ballebaazi karne (If he continues playing like this, he might force Rizwan and Babar to come down the order)," Sehwag further stated.
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Most Popular
