The Pakistani cricket team is currently on the tour to Ireland where it got the shock of the lifetime when Ireland defeated Pak in the first T20I match of the series but Pakistan made a good comeback as it won the second T20I by 7 wickets.
The match was played yesterday at Clontarf Cricket Club, Dublin, Ireland and after losing the toss, the hosts managed to put up a competitive total of 193/7 on the scoreboard with the help of some useful knocks by Lorcan Tucker (51 runs, 34 ball, 5 fours & 2sixes), Harry Tector (32 runs, 28 balls, 4 fours) and Gareth Delany (28 runs not out, 10 balls, 3 fours & 2 sixes).
The Pakistani cricketers responded pretty well as they chased the target successfully in 16.5 overs with 7 wickets in hand, while Mohammad Rizwan played a knock of 75 runs not out (46 balls, 6 fours & 4 sixes), Fakhar Zaman got out at the score of 78 runs for which he played 40 deliveries and smashed 6 fours and the same number of sixes as well.
Mohammad Rizwan was adjudged as the Player of the Match for his superb unbeaten knock and he expressed his admiration for the Indian cricketer Virat Kohli when Rizwan was reminded that after Virat Kohli, he is the only other cricketer from a test playing nation to have an average of over 50 runs in T20Is. Mohammad Rizwan stated that Virat Kohli is a good cricketer and he has not only learnt a lot from Virat but he respects him too.
While the Indian cricketer Virat Kohli has accumulated 4037 runs in 117 T20Is at an average of 51.75, Mohammad Rizwan has scored 3124 runs for which he has played 95 T20Is at an average of 50.38.
Mohammad Rizwan also adds that he doesn’t look at numbers, a player is an average player if he looks at average, it is better to look at match situation and conditions.
Rizwan was full of praises for the Ireland team as he stated that if the overall match is taken into consideration, Ireland has played really well and the credit should be given to them. He said that chasing a target of 194 was not easy as Ireland is well aware of the conditions and they did make things difficult for the Pakistan team early in the innings but Pak achieved success at the end because they chose to attack.
The third and the final T20I which will be the decider of the series will be played on Tuesday at the same venue.