Pakistan’s new skipper Mohammad Rizwan is all praise for their bowlers following their series victory over Australia in Australia. The Men in Green defeated the Aussies in the third ODI by eight wickets and won the series 2-1. Mohammad Rizwan was seen motivating the players and his field placements were spot on.
The series marked the end of a drought as Pakistan won an ODI series in Australia after 22 years. Chasing an under-par total of 141 runs, the Pakistani Openers Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique gave their team a good start adding 84 runs for the first wicket. Both the openers departed in quick succession but the former skipper Babar Azam and current skipper Mohammad Rizwan stitched an unbeaten 58-run partnership taking the visitors to a memorable victory.
Special moment for m“- Mohammad Rizwan
Earlier in the day, the hosts were asked to bat first, but thanks to some exceptional bowling from the Pakistani bowlers they were bowled out for just 140 runs inside 32 overs. Sean Abbott(30) was the top scorer for the hosts. Quicks Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah claimed three wickets each and Haris Rauf picked up a couple of wickets.
“Special moment for me, the nation will be very happy today, we didn’t perform as per expectations in the last couple of years. I’m the captain only for the toss and presentations – everyone gives me suggestions on the field, the batting group and the bowling group,” Rizwan said in the post-match presentation.
“All the credit to the bowlers, Australia in Australia isn’t easy, the conditions suit their style of playing, but the bowlers were outstanding. Also credit to the two openers, they made the chases easy. They (fans) don’t care a lot about the results, but the people back home are always behind us and I want to dedicate this victory to them,” Rizwan added.
Haris Rauf, who turned 31 a couple of days back, turned up big time taking 10 wickets in the series, with best figures of 5-29 coming in the 2nd ODI. He bagged both the Player of the Match and Player of the Series awards.
Pakistan made a strong comeback after the loss in the first ODI by two wickets, led by skipper Rizwan the team fought back with a resounding nine-wicket win in the second ODI. The last time Pakistan won an ODI series down under was way back in June 2002, when Pacer Waqar Younis led his side to a 2-1 series victory.
The teams will now lock horns in the 3-match T20I series, which will be played from November 14 to 18.
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