Former Pakistan cricketer Sikander Bakht lashed out at Mohammad Rizwan for his ‘selfish innings’ in the fourth T20I against New Zealand. He said that the keeper-batter reminded everyone of his old self by playing an innings like what he did in the Asia Cup 2022 final.
Mohammad Rizwan was the lone warrior for the Pakistan team in the fourth T20I against New Zealand. After failing in the first three games, the keeper-batter finally got some runs under his belt and made sure that he took his team to a decent total when everyone else struggled.
Opening the innings, Mohammad Rizwan carried his bat through and didn’t get the desired support from the other end. He played watchfully and made sure that he didn’t lose his wicket and provided his team with some score on the board.
Mohammad Rizwan played an unbeaten knock of 90 runs off 63 balls. He batted with a strike rate of over 172 and also slammed 6 fours and 2 sixes in his innings. His innings powered Pakistan to a total of 158/5 when they were reeling at 86/4.
Sikander Bakht highlighted how Mohammad Rizwan didn’t try to hit shots in the last over. He believes that the keeper-batter did so because he wanted to stay unbeaten at the crease. He added that the opener batted 20 overs and should’ve seen like ball like a football. Speaking to Geo Super, he explained:
“In the final over, Rizwan played 4 balls and made only as many runs. He didn’t even try to hit a four or six. This is selfishness and he might not like the word. But Rizwan is selfish as he wanted to go unbeaten.
You are playing for Pakistan and you have played out 20 overs, batting on 90. Rizwan should have been seeing the ball like football. How come he managed only 4 runs?”
Poor batting by Rizwan & Co we can’t win against good teams like this @TheRealPCB @TheRealPCBMedia @MHafeez22 @WahabViki #sikanderbakht #PakistanCricketTeam @iMRizwanPak #PAKvsNZ @babarazam258 @iShaheenAfridi @iMRizwanPak pic.twitter.com/rl2Y7K692n
— Sikander Bakht (@Sikanderbakhts) January 19, 2024
Mohammad Rizwan gave a glimpse of his old self – Sikander Bakht
Sikander Bakht further lashed out at Mohammad Rizwan, saying that his innings reminded him of his knock in the Asia Cup final. He compared the keeper-batter’s innings with Finn Allen, who scored 137 off 62 balls in the second game. He explained:
“Mohammad Rizwan gave a glimpse of his old self, notably reminding of his innings in the Asia Cup final when Pakistan were chasing 160 (170) and required 8 an over and it increased to 18 when he got out.
“In his match, Rizwan has made 90 off 63 balls, while Finn Allen smashed 137 off only 62 balls in the last game. Till the time our players play like this, we can’t win.”
Mohammad Rizwan’s efforts went in vain as Pakistan lost the game by the margin of 7 wickets. This was their fourth consecutive loss in the series and they are down by the margin of 4-0. Under the leadership of Shaheen Afridi, it hasn’t been a great outing for them in the T20Is. There would be signs of worry going ahead into the T20 World Cup 2024. The last match of the five-match series will be played on 21st January. Pakistan would be hoping to avoid the whitewash and win at least one game in the series.
