Mohammad Rizwan said that he is the Pakistan cricket team captain just for ‘toss and presentations’ following the ODI series victory over Australia on Sunday. Rizwan made a brilliant start to life as the Pakistan white-ball skipper as the visitors defeated Australia by eight wickets in the final ODI to clinch a historic series victory. At the post-match press conference, Rizwan said that it was a special moment for them and clarified that although he is the captain, he receives inputs from every team member.
“Special moment for me, the nation will be very happy today, we didn’t perform as per expectations in the last couple of years. I’m the captain only for the toss and presentations – everyone gives me suggestions on the field, the batting group and the bowling group,” said Rizwan.
“All the credit to the bowlers, Australia in Australia isn’t easy, the conditions suit their style of playing, but the bowlers were outstanding. Also credit to the two openers, they made the chases easy. I don’t care a lot about the press, but the people back home are always behind us and I want to dedicate this victory to them,” the veteran Pakistan cricketer added.
Saim Ayub hit 42 and Abdullah Shafique 37 as Pakistan raced to a commanding eight-wicket victory and their first one-day series win in Australia for 22 years on Sunday.
After bowling out the woeful world champions for a miserly 140 at Perth Stadium, Mohammad Rizwan’s team reached their target in the 27th over.
The impressive performance, aided by high-quality bowling from Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, ensured a first ODI series win in Australia since 2002.
They lost a tense opening match in Melbourne by two wickets, but bounced back with an emphatic nine-wicket victory in Adelaide.
(With AFP inputs)
