Pakistan cricket team ended its two-week stay in Hyderabad on a high. On Tuesday (October 10), the Men in Green pulled off the highest chase in World Cup history to defeat Sri Lanka by six wickets at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.
Chasing 345 to win, Pakistan found themselves struggling at 37/2 as Imam-ul-Haq (12) and Babar Azam (10) got out cheaply.
However, Abdullah Shafique and Mohammad Rizwan stood up under pressure situation, adding 176 runs for the third wicket to put Sri Lanka on the backfoot.
While Abdullah fell after scoring 113 off 103 balls, Rizwan remained unbeaten on 131 off 121 balls to take Pakistan over the finishing line with 10 deliveries to spare.
Earlier, Babar and his men had defeated Netherlands by 81 runs at the same venue in Hyderabad, where they enjoyed great hospitality and also got the backing of the crowd.
After the win against Sri Lanka, Rizwan addressed a press conference, where he acknowledged the love and support of the people of Hyderabad, saying that he felt like playing in Rawalpindi.
"I felt like I was playing a match in Pindi. The way the crowd gave love today (Tuesday), and not just me, the whole Pakistan team got love. In fact, they supported Sri Lanka too. I am happy that the crowd in Hyderabad has supported cricket, both Sri Lanka and us. I had a lot of fun with them," Rizwan told reporters.
"Hospitality, you all must have seen it. Someone must have taken pictures when we came to the airport. I said earlier that I felt like I was playing in front of crowd of Rawalpindi. Our ground in Lahore is big, a lot of people come there but today it seems that Pakistan's match is taking place in Rawalpindi," he added.
Rizwan credited the Hyderabad curator for his century against Sri Lanka, saying that he will pray for him.
"When we got to the ground for the first time, he (curator) said, 'Rizwan, you must hit two 100s on this ground'. I met him today as well. We can pray for him and you should pray for him too," he said.
Rizwan feels his biggest plus point is his adaptability while batting at different slots in different formats.
"In T20, Misbah-ul-Haq asked me to open, now management gave me 4 number in the order for ODIs, maybe that's why I can see things. I think I had this thing from the beginning – the ability to adjust to the demands of different positions in the batting order," he said.
Reflecting on his match-winning partnership with Abdullah Shafique, Rizwan said: "I told Abdullah, 'Don't look at the board'. We kept following our plan, because there was a separate plan till 20 over, there was a separate plan till 30 and then there was a separate plan till 40 over. This is what we planned.”
"In big chases we have had contributions from Babar Azam. Unfortunately, when he got out, then we chalked a plan that now till 20 overs, we would bat normally. It was this communication and calculation. The way Abdullah built the innings in the beginning, the kind of shots he hit, made it easy for us to chase the score," he remarked.
Pakistan will now travel to Ahmedabad for their next World Cup against arch-rivals India, scheduled for October 14.
(With PTI Inputs)
