Former India player turned veteran commentator Aakash Chopra has applauded Mohammad Rizwan for always stepping up to the occasion when Pakistan are in need. However, Bangladesh set a 194-run target in their Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash in Lahore on Wednesday against Pakistan where Rizwan then scored an unbeaten 63 off 79 deliveries to help his side win.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “Mohammad Rizwan – I like this player a lot. He is a warrior and he keeps fighting. The more pressure you put on him, the more he flourishes. Whether you play him in T20Is, ODIs or Tests, somehow whenever Pakistan are struggling, it brings the best out of him. Here also he stayed till the end and won them the match. He played very good sweeps and danced down the wicket to hit over cover. He plays spin extremely well and he has a very good pick-up shot against fast bowling. So Mohammad Rizwan is actually a very, very good player.”
Mohammad Rizwan hit seven fours and a six during his innings. He came to bat when Pakistan lost Babar Azam’s wicket very cheaply and added together an 85-run third-wicket partnership with Imam-ul-Haq before staying till the end to take the team home. Aakash Chopra also stated that Imam-ul-Haq led a charmed life in the middle as well. He also opined that Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman didn’t make good contributions.
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“Imam-ul-Haq was slightly fortunate because it was a matter of one or one-and-a-half centimeters. If the ball had pitched one or one-and-a-half centimeters to the right, that was it. There were lbw appeals twice, they took the DRS, the ball was pitching minutely outside the leg stump, and he was thus not given out. Those were really good deliveries. He was beaten all ends up. Taskin Ahmed dismissed Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman also got out. Imam too got out later, that was a bad shot, although he was looking good. When Imam plays well, he is like that correct batter. He plays spin well,” Chopra again shared.
Aakash Chopra also stated that Bangladesh’s problems are never-ending as they are still dependent on a couple of experienced players in the batting department. However, they could only manage 193 against Pakistan after they opted to bat first in their Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash in Lahore on Wednesday, September 6.
While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: “When Litton Das was batting, he was driving the ball beautifully. Both Litton Das and Mohammad Naim were looking, but none of their bats fired too much. Bangladesh’s problems are not ending. Every year it looks like this could be the year of the Bangla Tigers but it does not happen and that is their problem. The story has been going like this for a long time and will anything change this year too?”
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However, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, who scored a century in Bangladesh’s stunning win against Afghanistan, was dismissed for a golden duck against Pakistan as well. Das (16 off 13) and Naim (20 off 25) then stitched 31 runs in just 3.4 overs but lost their wickets very quickly. And, Aakash Chopra opined that Bangladesh are still reliant on Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim in the batting department as well.
“Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim made runs but I feel they were the ones scoring runs 10 years ago as well. Will they be the ones scoring runs 10 years later as well? The world has reached the moon and they are still stuck there. Bangladesh will have to think a little whether their cricket is improving and if they are actually heading in the right direction. It doesn’t sound like that because it is the same players repeatedly and pressure on them only. 194 on a road-like surface was never going to be enough and it wasn’t enough,” Aakash Chopra concluded.
