Pakistan vs Scotland, 41st Match, Group 2 (N), Sharjah, Nov 7 2021, ICC Men’s T20 World Cup
Feels great to win and we’ll look to carry forward the confidence. The spinners started off brilliantly, and Haris and Shaheen carried it through. I would like to compliment our fielding, that has carried us through here. I thought we gave 10 runs too many.
But this is cricket and it happens. While batting, there were wickets early on and we needed a partnership. Malik showed experience and Asif Ali contributed too. Every match is crucial. There is no easy match. We’ll look to play it day by day and game by game.
It is very disappointing. We were optimistic at the halfway stage. It was going to be really tough, we were a boundary or two at being above par. There were small margins, but we couldn’t nail it at the back end. Credit to Pakistan, thet are a strong side and were very smart. I thought our bowlers were outstanding for 80% of the game. Quite tough to swallow.
We were going into the second half, but this is a very goodd Pakistani side and are a team to watch. It is a game of small margins, we go to a different venue against India. We will have conversations and play accordingly. There were a few good decisions, but there are very small margins in these low-scoring games.
I am happy with the performance, thanks to the team, the fielding unit, they supported the bowlers, the support staff and the fans for all the support they’ve given us. There’s competition in the bowling unit, we have been playing together for two years, myself, Shaheen and Hasan Ali.
We talk with each other, assess the conditions and we do get confidence from each other. The wicket of Guptill in the powerplay was the best amongst the four wickets. Thankful to everyone, my family, the way Lahore Qalandars supported me, I’m here today because of them.
We started well with the ball, got a lot of wickets like we planned. Maybe gave away 10-15 runs too many at the end. With the bat, we couldn’t capitalise the powerplay as we wanted to. At the end, with Malik and Asif Ali, we knew they could do the job. He (Asif Ali) is known for this and I was confident pre-tournament itself that he would deliver when needed.
We planned our strategies well with the ball, and also ensured that he kept the uneven boundary dimensions in mind while bowling. Spinners were getting some grip from the track, Afghanistan have quality bowlers too and I was trying to take it as deep as possible. Unfortunately I couldn’t finish things off but credit to Asif Ali.
I would like to congratulate the Pakistan team and all our fans. I was confident of finishing it off from this end and that’s what I told Shoaib Malik before he got out. I look at the situation of the match, and I target the bowlers accordingly. I was talking to Shoaib when I walked in to bat and I told him that I was confident enough of getting 20-25 in one over, which I did.
Click Below to Watch The Full Video (Skip to 00:45 for Sania Mirza Part):
Video of Sania Mirza cheering for Shoaib Malik in Stadium : With Izhaan, their Son@t20worldcup https://t.co/xIY66j3DwB
— avishkar govardhane (@avishkargovardh) November 7, 2021
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