Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan has shed light on the massive impact defeating India at the 2021 T20 World Cup had on the nation. The Men in Green defeated their arch-rivals by a comfortable 10-wicket margin in the Super 12 stage of the tournament in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year.
Rizwan was among the top performers in the historic win after emerging as the top scorer with an unbeaten 79 of 55 deliveries.
Left-armed Pacer Shaheen Afridi set the pace early in the contest, dissecting the Indian batting unit to limit it to just 151-7.
Performances of the youngsters and lessons learned from the narrow defeat in Multan – 🇵🇰 Skipper Babar Azam reviews the second test.#PAKvENG | #UKSePK https://t.co/lzbQQSOjt1
Revealing that shopkeepers stopped taking money after that Pakistan ended their streak of World Cup losses to the Men in Blue, Rizwan said in an interview with Sky Sports Cricket:
“When we won against India back then, I thought it was just a game for me. That was because we won that game comfortably. But when I came to Pakistan, I realized how much it meant. When I go to a store, they don’t take any money from me. They would say, “You go, you go. I’m not taking any money from you!”
He added:
“People would say, ‘Everything here is free for you.’ This is the love of all Pakistan after this game”,
Pakistan finally reached the semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup after dominating the Super 12 stage. The side led by Babar Azam won all five group stage matches to finish top of the league going into the knockout rounds.
However, their campaign came to a heartbreaking end when a standout cameo by Australia’s Matthew Wade knocked them out of the semifinals.
Mohammad Rizwan has an impressive record in T20Is against India
The former No. 1 T20I batter has an amazing 65.67 average against India in four performances. His 2021 T20 World Cup win was his first game against the Men in Blue.
At the Asian Cup 2022 he was again a thorn in India’s side. He hit a superb 71 of 51 deliveries and helped Pakistan to a crucial win in the Super 4 stage of the continental tournament.
Will Mohammad Rizwan have more memorable games against India in the future? let us know what you think
