- विज्ञापन -
Adelaide: Following his side’s staggering victory over Australia in the second ODI match, Pakistan skipper Mohammad Rizwan hailed the Men in Green bowlers and said that they had performed well in the game.
The Pakistan bowling attack was at their top form as they rejuvenated under Rizwan’s captaincy. Haris Rauf was the star in the first inning after he bagged five wickets and gave 29 runs in his 8-over spell. Shaheen Afridi. who was struggling with his form recently, picked up three wickets in his eight-over spell. Mohammad Hasnain and Naseem Shah also took one wicket each in their respective spells.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Rizwan hoped that Pakistan could keep this confidence before going forward to Perth for the third ODI game. The skipper also lauded Rauf’s bowling and said that everyone enjoyed the seamer’s spell. “Hopefully we keep this confidence going forward to Perth. A win is a win. We decided to bowl after winning the toss. Our bowlers bowled well and we found success. Everyone is enjoying his (Haris Rauf’s) bowling. Not only fans from Pakistan but also from all around the world, everyone enjoys to watch him bowl,” Rizwan said.
Recapping the match, Pakistan’s decision to send Australia to bat first in the game did go in their favour as they successfully restricted the hosts at 163.
Steven Smith (35 runs from 48 balls, 5 fours, 1 six) was the highest run-scorer in the match for the hosts. Apart from Smith, no other player could cross the 20-run mark.
Haris Rauf led the Men in Green bowling attack after he bagged five wickets and gave 29 runs in his 8-over spell. During the run chase, Saim Ayub (82 runs from 71 balls, 5 fours and 6 sixes) and Abdullah Shafique (64* runs from 69 balls, 4 fours and 3 sixes) opened for Pakistan and cemented a 137-partnership and made it easy for the visitors.
Meanwhile, in the 21st over, Adam Zampa made the first breakthrough of the inning but it was too late for the hosts to make a comeback in the game.
In the end, when Pakistan needed just one run to win the game, Babar Azam sent the ball over the mid-wicket and finished the game off in a style with a six and helped the Men in Green to clinch a nine-wicket victory.
The win on Friday was also etched on the history books as it’s Pakistan’s first victory in Adelaide against Australia after 1996.
