Getting better: Anwar Ali hopes to produce more match-winning performances

27-year-old says he is concentrating on improving all three aspects of his game

KARACHI: Pakistan’s rising all-rounder Anwar Ali is looking to produce more match-winning performances in the future after his 17-ball 46 helped Pakistan register an unlikely win against Sri Lanka in the second T20 in Colombo at the R Premadasa Stadium.

It was at the very venue where a slim 18-year-old Anwar Ali made a name for himself with a heroic five-for against arch-rivals India in a low-scoring ICC U19 World Cup final in 2006.

Back then Anwar bamboozled India with his ‘banana’ swing, leaving the Indian batsmen clueless with how to deal with the movement he was managing. That particular match put Anwar in the limelight and his bowling became an overnight YouTube sensation.

Defending a low score of 110, Pakistan had reduced India to 6-9 at one stage with Anwar being the chief destructor, dismissing the likes of Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravindera Jadeja — all of whom have gone on to become well-known stars in international cricket.

Anwar, on the other hand, was still struggling to make a name for himself and cement his place in the side until the series against Sri Lanka came along.

Almost a decade later, the all-rounder admits that his performance in 2006 helped him pull off the miraculous win.

“It’s a coincidence that I’ve produced my two best performances in Colombo and probably the sense of achieving the unthinkable in the U19 World Cup final came to help while I was batting against Sri Lanka,” Anwar told The Express Tribune.

“When I went out to bat in the last T20, there was only one thought in my mind: hit the ball out of the ground. I kept on taking my chances and they kept on coming nicely. To be honest, I didn’t even know that I was approaching the record of scoring the fastest T20 fifty for Pakistan. I hope that I will be able to produce more such performances in the future.”

Read: Anwar Ali, from pressing socks to making it big

There were questions regarding Anwar’s selection in the ODI and T20 squads from some quarters but the all-rounder justified his inclusion with some impressive fielding and decent bowling, along with a batting cameo in the last T20.

Pakistan have struggled to produce match-winning all-rounders after Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood, and there was hope that Anwar and Bilawal Bhatti would be able to fill the void. However, while Anwar is finally coming to terms with international cricket, Bhatti has faded away.

“I’m eager to improve my all-round game, which includes my fielding as well and it is something I enjoy doing,” he added.

“I try to concentrate equally on my batting, bowling and fielding.”

The 27-year-old also credited those in charge of helping him.

“My captains, Shahid Afridi and Azhar Ali, and head coach Waqar Younis have given me lot of confidence to go out there and apply myself, which has given me the freedom to excel,” he said.

“I’m trying to regain my cutting-edge in bowling by working with Waqar.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 9^th, 2015.

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