"Whenever Pakistan are struggling, it brings the best out of him"

Aakash Chopra has lauded Mohammad Rizwan for always rising to the occasion when Pakistan are in a spot of bother.

Bangladesh set the Men in Green a 194-run target in their Asia Cup 2023 Super Four clash in Lahore on Wednesday, September 6. Rizwan then scored an unbeaten 63 off 79 deliveries to help the hosts overhaul the target with seven wickets and 63 balls to spare.

While reviewing the game in a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra heaped praise on Rizwan, saying:

"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."

The former Indian opener pointed out that the Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter is proficient against both spin and pace. He elaborated:

"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."

Rizwan struck seven fours and a six during his innings. He walked out to bat when Pakistan lost Babar Azam's wicket relatively cheaply and strung together an 85-run third-wicket partnership with Imam-ul-Haq before staying till the end to ensure that his side got over the line.

"Imam-ul-Haq was slightly fortunate" - Aakash Chopra

Imam-ul-Haq scored 78 runs off 84 balls. [P/C: AP]

Aakash Chopra highlighted that Imam-ul-Haq led a charmed life in the middle. He explained:

"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."

While observing that Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman didn't make substantial contributions, the cricketer-turned-commentator added that Imam-ul-Haq played technically correct shots whilst he was at the crease. He stated:

"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 pointed out that virtually all Pakistan batters have had a decent hit in the middle, with Iftikhar Ahmed also having scored a century against Nepal. He concluded by observing that while there is repeated talk about a slightly soft underbelly, Pakistan are a mighty team.