Mohammad Rizwan is truly off to a dream start as Pakistan’s ODI captain. Following their victory in the last ODI, Pakistan, under Mohammad Rizwan’s leadership, became the only side ever to whitewash South Africa in South Africa in an ODI series.
These are highly promising signs for Pakistan, as Mohammad Rizwan would have his eyes set on a potential successful defence of the ICC Champions Trophy.
On that note, let us look at three reasons behind Pakistan’s remarkabe victory against South Africa in the 3rd ODI:
1) Yet another magnificent Saim Ayub ton
For the second time in the series, Saim Ayub crossed the 100-run mark, and he has now scored three ODI centuries in nine innings, with all three of them coming away from home.
His knock in the third and final ODI of the series was one that was a testament to the incredible potential that the young man possesses.
Although this feat was also achieved by Imam-ul-Haq (4 centuries in first 9 ODI innings) in the past, what stands out is the range that Saim Ayub has displayed. From classy drives to powerful slogs to cheeky scoops, he has every single shot in his repertoire.
Moreover, the situational awareness showed by him so early in his career is an indication than this youngster is bound to achieve great things in his career. Once again, Abdullah Shafique was dismissed for a duck.
Keeping that in mind Saim Ayub did not look to rush through his innings, and did not crumble under pressure. He knew that if he saw the new ball off, he is very much capable of taking the attack to the South African bowlers with a fairly old ball.
The left-handed batter scored 101 runs off 94 deliveries, and walked off to a standing ovation from the Johannesburg crowd after a spectacular knock.
He bagged the Player Of The Match award as well as the Player Of The Series award for his mighty impressive centuries in the first and third ODIs, and also for his handy spells with the ball in hand.
2) Pakistan’s middle-order rising to the occasion
In a shortened 47-over game, Pakistan’s middle order stepped up with handy contributions. Barring Kamran Ghulam, all of Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan, Tayyab Tahir and Agha Salman chipped in with valuable knocks.
Mohammed Rizwan played second fiddle to Saim Ayub when the latter was on the charge. However, he looked in good touch, scoring another half-century and ending with 53 runs, striking at more than run-a-ball.
Babar Azam did what he does best. He stabilized the innings, played the anchor role, and scored a crucial fifty. He scored 52 runs off 71 deliveries, which was probably a tad too slow, but was acceptable considering the situation Pakistan were in early on in the innings.
At the back end of the innings, Agha Salman looked in impeccable touch, scoring 48 runs, striking at close to 150. He played some delightful strokes through the off-side, and also showed some innovation with a reverse scoop off the back of the bat which sailed over the ropes for six.
3) Tight bowling and Mohammad Rizwan’s street-smart captaincy
One of Pakistan’s biggest problems over the last few years in white-ball cricket was the inability to strike consistently after the powerplay. Fortunately for Pakistan, it seems as if they have found a solution to this problem.
Sufiyan Muqeem, the left-arm wrist spinner, has been remarkable in his short career. Although he does offer some half trackers every now and then, there is some sort of deception in his bowling. Playing his first ever ODI, he was the pick of the bowlers for Pakistan, notching up four wickets after an expensive first two overs.
Abrar Ahmed, who was not playing the third ODI, has also been superb in the one-day format, regularly causing batters trouble with his hard-to-pick googlies.
Agha Salman and Saim Ayub are also capable of rolling their arms over. In fact, on supportive tracks, both of them are capable of running through their overs and providing their skipper with a back up just in case one of the lead bowlers picks up an injury or goes for plenty in his first few overs.
Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah are slowly getting back to their best, both with the new and old ball.
Credit must also be given to Mohammed Rizwan for effective utilization of his bowlers, bowling them at times that help their bowling styles the best.
Pakistan’s skipper, Mohammad Rizwan, had specific plans for certain batters, and executed those plans to perfection against South Africa throughout the series.
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