HYDERABAD: After being invited to bat by their opponents, Netherlands, in their World Cup opener here at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday, Pakistan were in a spot of bother. They were three down inside 10 overs with only 38 on the board.
It was then their in-form wicketkeeper batter Mohammad Rizwan who put up a century partnership with rookie Saud Shakeel to steer the team to safety. The duo added 120 runs for the fourth wicket to take Pakistan beyond the 150-run mark.
Rizwan, who is in sublime touch with the bat, admitted early wickets put the team under pressure but claimed they were confident that they could ride out of the storm given their batters' form of late. "Whenever wickets fall, the team comes under pressure. But this is ODI cricket, here you have enough time to make a comeback. Our batters are performing well of late. The top, middle, and lower order are contributing so we were confident that if we can go deep then we can definitely put runs on the board. This gave us confidence despite three quick wickets," he told journalists after the match wherein Pakistan defeated Netherlands by 81 runs to start their World Cup campaign.
Like most of his teammates, Rizwan is also on his first visit to India. In order to get an idea of conditions that he along with others would be countering in India, he spoke to former Pakistan batter Saeed Anwar before the World Cup. "You will get different conditions everywhere in cricket. Even during a match, you will have to encounter different conditions. Yes, it's true I spoke to Saeed Anwar before coming to India and asked him specifically about the Indian conditions and how to counter them. He also told me that conditions can change at any time on any pitch. We considered that pitches in India are flat but it's not like that. They are supporting pitches, whoever does good will get the assistance whether it's a batter, pacer, or spinner. So he gave me an idea of how to play in India. It's true we practice differently according to the places we go and play cricket. If we go to Australia, we train differently and if we are here we have trained differently."
ALSO READ | Naa ready: Ashwin returns to Chepauk for grand homecoming
With the Dutch reaching 120/2 in 23 overs, it appeared that the runs posted by the Men in Green may not prove enough. Rizwan, who scored 68 off 75 balls, however, was confident that the runs were enough for his bowlers to defend. "We were happy with our total. Our team management wanted us to post a 270-plus target. It is said that we have good pacers so that gives us confidence. We do not consider any team weak but their inexperience made us believe that 270 plus will be a good target for them. We have confidence in our bowlers and they performed," he added.
Unexpectedly, Saud was the quickest among the two as his 68 came off just 52 deliveries. Rizwan was all praise for him. "If Saud continues working hard as he has been doing now then he can be the next superstar from Pakistan. I spoke to him thrice but told him we would not plan anything. The way I plan with Babar, I didn't do it with him because he plays strokes which yield runs. Runs will come if he plays his natural game. We thought we would plan after 30 overs but unfortunately, that didn't happen."
The 31-year-old from Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was delighted to receive such a rousing welcome from Indian fans and hoped that his team will continue to get the love and support across the venues where they play their matches. "We are getting a lot of crowd support here in the country. I have heard people in India love the Pakistan team. We would have loved to play in Mumbai, Delhi but wherever we will play, I am hopeful we will keep getting the support from the crowd."
He affirmed that the win will boost the team's confidence ahead of the India match on October 14 in Ahmedabad. "It's a big tournament. Each team here wants to win. So, every match is crucial and a win always boosts your confidence and helps you assess your strengths and weaknesses. This win will definitely place us in a good position come the next match against Sri Lanka and the following match against India. But the goal is to take one match at a time."
Speaking on the openers' form, Rizwan said, "Fakhar Zaman and Imam-ul-Haq are top-class players. It was they who helped the team become No 1 in the ODIs. They may not be in quite good form recently but it has given an opportunity to the middle and lower middle order to contribute with the bat which is a good thing for the team."
He was happy that lower middle-order batters like Mohammad Nawaz, Shadab Khan, Haris Rauf, and Shaheen Shah Afridi came to the party and scored runs. However, Rizwan said fielding is a concern and they would like to improve it as the tournament progresses.
