Shoaib Akhtar blames Rizwan's timid approach for Pakistan's loss
Mohammad Rizwan in action [PC: Twitter]
Riding on Hardik Pandya's all-round brilliance, India handed Pakistan a five-wicket defeat in the second match of the Asia Cup 2022 last night.
In the aftermath of this last over thriller, legendary fast bowler Shoaib Akhtar held Mohammad Rizwan's timid batting at the top responsible for Pakistan's debacle.
Further, Pakistan's middle order disappointed them to the core. Their dismal performance was a significant reason behind Pakistan posting an under-par total in the game. So, Akhtar rightly pointed out the Men in Green's middle-order woes and reckoned that skipper Babar Azam should have batted down the order to anchor the innings till the end.
"If Rizwan will play run-a-ball then obviously what will happen? 19 dot balls in first 6 overs. If you will play so many dot balls then you will face problems,"
"I have said this multiple times that Babar Azam shouldn't open. He should come one down and anchor the innings till the end."
Rizwan scored 43 runs at an ordinary strike rate of 102.38, while the Pakistani middle order averaged just ten, leading to their underwhelming performance with the bat. The Men in Green should treat this as an eye-opener and fix their batting issues in time to remain in the title's contention.
 "Debashis Sarangi")
