Mohammad Rizwan had to battle cramps to complete his hundred in the ICC World Cup 2023 match with Sri Lanka. However, his condition changed completely after reaching the three-figure mark, and he was seen running comfortably.
This surprised everyone as Rizwan was finding it hard to even walk at one stage. During the post-match presentation ceremony, he opened up on cramps and on the record World Cup chase.
"Always proud when you perform like that. It was difficult and when you chase like that, it's always special. Every player in the dressing room had the belief we can chase that. Basically, it's a good track and we decided to calculate the innings," Rizwan said after receiving player of the match award.
“I stuck to my plans and told Abdullah Shafique to take the game deep. Cricket is a team game and it was important to win for the team,” he added.
On a lighter note, he admitted to faking the cramps. "Sometimes cramps, sometimes acting (laughs)."
Remember, Pakistan carried on to their impeccable form and registered a historic win against Sri Lanka in the eighth match of the competition at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad, India on Tuesday.
Chasing the target of 345 runs, the Men in Green met with early blows as they had lost their top-order batters, Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam, in just 7.1 overs and were 37-2 but the match-winning partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and the World Cup debutant, Abdullah Shafique, changed the fortunes of the struggling Pakistani side.
Abdullah walked back to the pavilion after scoring 113 off 103 courtesy of 10 fours and three sixes but Rizwan stayed till the end and took his side over the line by scoring 131 runs — Pakistan’s second-highest individual score in the World Cup overtaking Ramiz Raja’s 119 against New Zealand in 1992.
The astounding win will be a great confidence booster for the Pakistani side who play the arch-rivals India in the most-anticipated match of the World Cup at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad on October 14.
- Mohammad Rizwan