Sharjah: After a clinical five-wicket victory over New Zealand, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam Tuesday said that it’s great to win and his team will look to carry forward the confidence in the upcoming matches of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Haris Rauf’s superb bowling followed by Asif Ali and Shoaib Malik’s late blitz helped Pakistan beat New Zealand by five wickets in a Super 12 match of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium Tuesday.
The victory sends Pakistan back above Afghanistan to the top of Group 2 with two wins from two matches in the tournament.
“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,” said Babar after the win.
Babar also praised Malik and Asif Ali for their match-winning partnership.
“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,” he said.
Meanwhile, Haris Rauf, who got the Player of the Match, for his sensational bowling performance said that there is competition in the bowling unit and they also complement each other.
“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,” he said.