Pakistan cricket team led by Babar Azam kick-started their campaign today against the Nepal cricket team at Multan Cricket Stadium in Pakistan. The Green Shirts won the toss and opted to bat first on a good batting surface. The hosts had early hiccups as they lost the opening pair namely Fakhar Zaman (14) and Imam-ul-Haq (5) for cheap scores. Pakistan were in a spot of bother after failing to build a solid foundation at the top.
While Fakhar fell prey to Karan’s delivery, Imam-ul-Haq was dismissed run-out by Rohit Paudel’s fielding effort. Just as when Nepal bowlers tried to keep the opposition batsmen in check, the likes of Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam showed tremendous resistance by adding an 86-run partnership before Rizwan was involved in a once-in-a-blue-moon run-out dismissal.
The drama unfolded when Rizwan who was set at 44 (6 fours) nudged the ball towards the cover-point for a single in an attempt to get his captain back on strike. However, his decision to run towards the non-striker’s end came at a price as he didn’t try to ground his bat in the first place. The wicketkeeper-batsman was worried about the ball coming towards him and was just sidestepping to escape from getting hit.
Ravichandran Ashwin deftly decodes Mohammad Rizwan’s mode of dismissal
https://twitter.com/NihariVsKorma/status/1696850436052160743
Nevertheless, Rizwan’s evasive action cost a wicket as the batsman was well short of his crease. The batsman wouldn’t be happy with the way he got out considering the context of the game. He was absolutely gutted with himself for not dragging his bat towards the crease. However, India’s veteran off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had an interesting take on the dismissal as he took to social media to explain in detail.
Ravi Ashwin who has been actively following the tournament took to his official X (formerly known as Twitter) handle to decode Rizwan’s mode of dismissal in a crystal clear manner. The experienced cricketer is of the notion that Rizwan’s run-out turned out to be more bizarre just because he didn’t wear a helmet.
“The height of the throw made it harder to evade for Rizwan but for someone who generally dives to make his ground all the time while running between the wickets, this is a rare instance of him ducking for cover and the only reason is that he isn’t wearing his helmet. He loves sweeping against spin and no helmet makes it even more bizarre,” Ravi Ashwin added.
The height of the throw made it harder to evade for Rizwan but for someone who generally dives to make his ground all the time while running between the wickets, this is a rare instance of him ducking for cover and the only reason is that he isn’t wearing his helmet.
He loves… pic.twitter.com/asBSX6rf9n
— Ashwin 🇮🇳 (@ashwinravi99) August 30, 2023
https://twitter.com/RRstan1/status/1696846400955507086
At the time of writing this piece, Pakistan posted 196/4 in 37 overs, with Babar Azam and Iftikhar Ahmed batting on 93 and 28 runs respectively.
ALSO READ: Pallekele Weather 2nd September 2023: Clouds hover over India vs Pakistan Asia Cup match