"We fought till the end and did not give up" - Haris Rauf lauds Pakistan's valiant effort in the T20 World Cup final

Pakistan pacer Haris Rauf has hailed his side's spirited effort in the T20 World Cup 2022 final against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). However, the 29-year-old felt Shaheen Afridi's third and fourth over could have made the difference on the day.

Pakistan went down against England by five wickets in the final as the former's batting unit hobbled to 137 in 20 overs. Pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi's knee injury was supposedly the turning point of the game as he couldn't finish his quota of overs. Jos Buttler and Co. ultimately prevailed with one over to spare.

Speaking to Cricwick, he talked about his side's defeat to England in the final. The Melbourne Stars bowler said:

"I feel these are excuses. But the way we played cricket, we fought till the end and did not give up. We scored only 137. We spoke in the meeting that we have a world-class bowling unit. So, this is the time to show. Regardless of what the result would be, we'll give our best and make England work for their runs.

"I think if Shaheen would've bowled, there was a bit of hope because there were chances of getting wickets and the result might have been different."

Rauf bowled his heart out, picking up the wickets of Phil Salt and Buttler. However, Ben Stokes weathered the storm and hit an unbeaten fifty to take England over the line.

"We have different variety of bowlers" - Haris Rauf

Haris Rauf. (Image Credits: Getty)

When asked whether Pakistan's bowling unit is the best in T20 cricket, Rauf highlighted the variety of the side's bowling unit and said:

"We have a different variety of bowlers. Shaheen bowls with the new ball and at death. Naseem bowls with the new ball and I come at the first change. There's a set combination and we believe everyone knows their role well based on the match situation. We also keep talking to one another about ideas and strategies."

The right-arm pacer is likely to make his Test debut when Pakistan takes on England in the first Test in Rawalpindi, which begins on Thursday (December 1).