Pakistan produced a complete effort as they beat New Zealand by six wickets in a must-win game at Edgbaston in the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019. Skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed hailed his sides fielding in this match which till now attracted a lot of criticisms.
Sarfaraz hails his sides all-round effort
Mohammad Amir and Shahen Afridi ran havoc after New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson won the toss and opted to bat first. Amir provided the initial breakthrough removing out-of-form Martin Guptill before Afridi joined the party. He picked three quick wickets to have the Kiwis at 46 for four in 12.3 overs. James Neesham joined Williamson in the middle who started the revival but didn’t last long as Shadan Khan got the better of the New Zealand skipper. Neesham then joined hands with Colin de Grandhomme staged a 100+ run stand to help New Zealand post 237 runs in their 50 overs.
Also read: ICC World Cup 2019: West Indies Batsman Chris Gayle Says Is Among Greats
Pakistan were outstanding on the field and produced an improved effort from their previous outings. During the chase, Pakistan lost early wickets, but Babar Azam staged two crucial partnerships with Mohammad Hafeez and Haris Sohail to take his side over the rope. Sarfaraz Ahmed hailed his team for putting in thorough effort in a must-win game.
“Fielding is important, but we didn’t field well until today and we worked hard in our practice sessions. Good to see the results today. Whenever Pakistan team is pushed to the corner, we do well. It’s a great team effort, Firstly the bowlers. The way Amir started and then Shaheen… Shadab in the middle overs and the way Babar and Haris batted.. To me Babar played one of the best innings I have seen,” Sarfaraz said.
Also read: ICC World Cup 2019: Andre Russell Has No Regret After Getting Ruled Out
Furthermore, Sarfaraz Ahmed said that they are taking one game at a time and is not eyeing a final spot. Pakistan next takes on Afghanistan on June 29, and Sarfaraz is confident that they will do well.
“We are not thinking about the 1992 World Cup, we are taking game by game here. We are confident as a team and hopefully, we will do well,” he concluded.