In an interesting development, Pakistan promising young fast bowler Hasan Ali has fulfilled his father’s wish by dismissing the England skipper Eoin Morgan in the all-important semi-final of 2017 ICC Champions Trophy on Wednesday at the Sophia Gardens after Sarfraz Ahmed put hosts to bat first, on a surface which has little on an offer for the bowlers.
Ali’s father has expressed satisfaction over the performance of his son during the ongoing eighth edition of ICC Champions Trophy while stating youngster has worked hard to break into the national side and his prayers are with the team.
“England skipper Eoin Morgan would be crucial for Pakistan God willing my son claim his wicket,” Ali’s father told in a brief interview to Geo News, before the start of the first semi-final match in Cardiff.
The 23-year-old wily customer Ali, who has unique way of celebrating the wicket, bagged the prized scalp of Morgan, who went for a big short while feeling the pressure of facing too many dot balls, as the widish delivery got the edge of his bat as wicket-keeper Sarfraz completed the regulation catch which further read England scoreboard 141 for four in 31.4 overs.
The left-handed batsman Morgan scored 33 off 53 deliveries which was comprised of four boundaries as he scored at the strike-rate of 62.26.
Using his variations well and cranking up the pace to unsettle the batsman, Ali made a decent comeback after leaking 70 runs against India for his solitary wicket.
Playing the significant role to bundle out in-form England for 211, Ali was handy with the ball again by picking three crucial wickets in his quota of ten overs after conceding 35 runs.
Against Sri Lanka, Ali bagged three wickets after giving away 43 runs in 10 overs.
Maintaining his line and length, while bowling splendidly well Ali claimed three wickets against South Africa at Birmingham on June 7.
Ali has been effusively praised by former cricketers for giving his best with the ball, as he has shown improvement with every game to bolster the bowling line-up.
So far, Ali has been quite effective in the middle-overs, as he bagged 10 wickets in four matches, in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy.
Coming to the figures in the eight-nation tournament, Ali sent down 38 overs in which he conceded 172 runs and interestingly it included just a solitary maiden
After making his debut against Ireland in 2016, Ali has featured in 20 One-day Internationals for Pakistan in which he bagged 39 wickets. He has also played a solitary Test against West Indies, in which he claimed three wickets.
Pak on top as Hasan Ali takes wicket of Eoin Morgan #PAKvENG #CT17 #CT17onGeohttps://t.co/9HuxsUsQVb pic.twitter.com/7rdmmuEhxb
— Geo News Sport (@geonews_sport) June 14, 2017