‘I couldn’t sleep for three nights’

Wahab Riaz’s extensive planning landed him five wickets against India but not the result he had hoped for.

LAHORE:

Pakistan’s left-arm fast-bowler Wahab Raiz has revealed that he spent three sleepless nights before the team’s World Cup semi-final against archrivals India, spending that time planning his strategy against the formidable batting line-up.

Riaz, who grabbed a career-best five-wicket haul in the losing cause, said he had put in a lot of thought and planning into his bowling before the vital match, which helped him deliver a commendable performance.

“I spent three sleepless nights ahead of the semi-final,” Riaz told The Express Tribune. “I was planning how and where to bowl to each particular batsman. The planning and the confidence shown in me by the team-management was the key to my success in the all-important game.”

Gradual ascent

Riaz, who made his One-day International debut against Zimbabwe in 2008, would have not even been in the World Cup squad if it was not for the bans handed out to fast-bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir.

He was also overlooked for the earlier part of Pakistan’s campaign despite a memorable Test debut against England last summer, when he took a five-wicket haul against the hosts, and played a crucial role in Pakistan’s victory.

He was inducted into the playing-eleven after Pakistan’s 110-run loss against New Zealand in which Shoaib Akhtar’s last over went for 28 runs. In the semi-final, the fast-bowler’s brilliant show against the hosts restricted India to 260 for nine on a good batting track.

Disappointed at the result

However, Riaz did express disappointment at losing the crucial encounter, despite giving his team a great chance for victory.

“There was a lot of disappointment when we lost to India. We weren’t considered serious contenders for the World Cup but still reached the semi-final and it was sad to fall just short of making it to the final.

“We failed to build partnerships in the match. I believe a couple of significant partnerships could have made the difference and brought us the win.”

‘We ignored the media’

The left-armer was all praise for the team spirit and unity displayed by Pakistan during the World Cup, which he termed was the “key to the team’s success”. Commenting on the role played by the Indian media before the semi-final, Riaz was quite critical of its performance.

“We did not really care about what the Indian media reported on our team. They actually ended up building pressure on their own side. We were very confident in our own ability and we have proved that on various occasions so we ignored the media reports.

“We were a side that no one took seriously before the tournament but we still reached the last-four stage. We were all united and supported each other.  I firmly believe cricket is a team game and once each and every player in the side pulls their weight, the winning graph goes up.”

The future

Riaz was of the opinion that it was now time to look past the semi-final defeat and work for a better future.

“I think we should now look ahead to the future, rather than keep focusing on the defeat. Constantly lamenting the loss will be detrimental for us. We should now start working for the future success of the team.”

ODIs

Matches                 18

Wickets                  31

Best                        5-46

Average                  23.19

5w                           1

World Cup

Matches                 5

Wickets                 8

BBI                         5-46

Average                 19.75

5w                          1

Tests

Matches                   5

Wickets                   13

Best                          5-63

Average                   32.69

5w                            1

Published in The Express Tribune, April 5^th,  2011.