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Follow UsAfter defeating Bangladesh in Kolkata by a huge margin of 7 wickets, Pakistan have continued their winning momentum, defeating New Zealand in a rain-interrupted game by 21 runs through the DLS method. In both games, their run towards the target was fuelled by their left-handed opener Fakhar Zaman’s explosive centuries.
Today (November 4), against New Zealand, It wasn’t an easy chase for Pakistan as the target was 402, and they were also up against the rain, which arrived in the evening as forecasted, requiring the opener to be uber-aggressive.
In a welcome change from their past approach, where Pakistan’s strategies during the game have been found wanting, they had prepared for all eventualities in Bengaluru. Zaman, in the post-match press conference, said that the Men in Green were well-prepared for the rain prediction.
“Like I said before, we had thought that it will rain and planned accordingly. We sent a message to the management after 15 overs that it is drizzling, so tell us how many overs – because we knew that before 20 overs the Duckworth Lewis Stern [DLS] Method is not applicable, so we asked them what target we need to achieve in 20 overs. Of course, planning is very important at that stage, playing without planning is very difficult. We had planned yesterday also and even today we played over by over.”
It’s not the first time in recent years that Pakistan has made a strong comeback after faltering in an ICC Tournament. Even in the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, the Pakistan team came back hard after a slow start and reached the finals. Fakhar acknowledged the ability of his team and remarked that it was all about finding the 'rhythm'.
“This Pakistani team is very talented. We have also played all over the world. If you see from the beginning till now – it just that we need a rhythm, which we tend to lose over time. Like if you see the way we lost against South Africa, but after that, we have just improved. So, I think our team lacks a rhythm, and when we get that rhythm, then everyone plays well. Like in the last match, our bowlers bowled very well. Even in this match, at the end, the bowlers made a very good comeback. The way the wicket was playing, I think we saved 30 – 40 runs. The main thing is rhythm, which I think we have got now.”
Zaman was part of Pakistan’s first game of the tournament against the Netherlands and was dropped due to an injury after that. However, ever since he has made a comeback against Bangladesh, he has not only got runs but has brought about a breath of fresh air to Pakistan's struggling top-order. Zaman shed light on his preparation ahead of what was a must-win encounter for Pakistan to keep their 2023 campaign alive.
“See, whenever someone performs or plays a big innings, he says that he did this, he did that – but definitely when I got time off, I didn’t rest. I was home for 2 days and then went to Peshawar [during the Asia Cup]. The coach came home with me too, I have an academy near my house, so he used to come with me from Peshawar to work with me. It is like that only, everyone works hard. Today’s innings I would like to dedicate to my fielding coach Aftab Khan and his academy. He gave me a lot of time to improve my weaknesses, no one does that. You need such people. When you perform your hard work shows, and when you can't perform, no one values that hard work.”
Zaman also reflected on what was a tough Asia Cup, where he couldn't score a lot of runs before being eventually dropped from the side due to lack of performances.
“At this level when you plan international cricket, there are always ups and downs. At that time, I was working hard on my fitness also, because I was suffering from an injury. Even during the Asia Cup, I had scored highest 30 runs, it was not a good time for me. I went to my fielding coach’s academy in Peshawar, he was also an off spinner in his time. He worked a lot on me. Even here I spent a lot of time with my batting coach. Everyone works hard, today I was lucky that because of my performance the team has won.”
