Tri-series victory
Pakistan went into the T20I tri-series against Bangladesh and New Zealand with doubts around their middle order. However, Haider Ali and Muhammad Nawaz’s bold performances in the final against New Zealand have sent a strong message to all the critics. Haider Ali scored a 31 off 15 before losing his wicket to Tim Southee. However, Nawaz maintained the momentum and scored an impressive 38 off 22 easing Pakistan’s path to victory. Iftikhar Ahmed’s match-winning six ultimately led Pakistan to a five-wicket victory with three balls to spare. Just the day before, Nawaz hit an unbeaten 45 off 20 at number 4 against Bangladesh as well.
Pakistan’s victory ahead of the ICC T20I World Cup opener against arch-rivals India on 23rd October has bolstered the team’s confidence and morale. The audacious performance of the middle order should ease the top order’s concerns and allow them to utilise the power play to make an early impact. On Thursday, Captain Babar Azam achieved yet another record becoming the fastest Asian player to score 11,000 runs in international cricket. Wicket-keeper batsman Muhammad Rizwan was also named ICC player of the month after his stellar performances. Throughout the series, our bowling unit also performed exceptionally, particularly in the final conceding only 33 runs in the last five overs restricting New Zealand to a moderate total.
Even in the absence of stars like fast-bowler Shaheen Afridi and batsman Fakhar Zaman, the players have shown that they can assume responsibility when required and perform at the highest levels. Now with Afridi and Zaman having completed their rehabilitation and set to join the squad in Brisbane, the team appears to be stronger than ever. The tri-series win has raised the spirits of the fans as well who are now looking forward to a thrilling World Cup and hopeful for a tournament victory.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 16th, 2022.
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