Hasan Ali, the right-arm seamer, faced a tricky situation during the post-match presentation ceremony after winning the Man of the Match award. The 23-year -old, who belongs to the small town of Mandi Bahauddin in Punjab, wasn’t comfortable speaking in English and needed the assistance from his Brit cultured, well-spoken teammate Imad Wasim, as New Zealand’s Ian Doull held the mic.
The interview went smooth. Doull had a couple of questions to ask regarding the day’s performance and the improved fielding showings. Hassan spoke in the language he was comfortable in – Urdu – while Imad translated it for Doull and the media. It was a simple interview.
Here is what Hassan had to say:
“It was a team effort,” he says. “Coach gave me a plan, and I just stuck to that. I dropped Yuvi in the previous match and he scored a lot. We all worked very hard on our fielding. It was raining, so we didn’t really do any fielding practice before the match. It’s very important for me, getting this award because it’s my first ICC event.”
The analysis made by Hassan Ali was great. But, what impressed the fans was the innocence, nervousness and a tinge of an embarrassment of not knowing the popular language that covered his face.
This is quite common with most of the players from the sub-continent, especially the ones who belong to small towns and make it big. This interview became the talking point among the fans after the match and was widely shared on social media platforms.
Ali had a fabulous match against South Africa after the horror show in the tournament opener against India where he conceded 70 off his 10 overs spell. It was the third time in his short 18 ODI match career that the young fast bowler snapped a three-wicket haul.
This important spell set the stage for a small chase for Pakistan, as South Africa were restricted for a mere 219/8 in 50 overs. His wickets included Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and Wayne Parnell. These dismissals came at a time when South Africa was trying to get hold of the proceedings after a slow start and therefore gave Pakistan an opportunity to tighten the strings on the run rate more effectively.
Here’s the video:
https://www.facebook.com/pakcric.troll/videos/1259185910846786/