Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan has once again expressed his admiration and respect for Indian batting stalwart Virat Kohli after playing a match-winning knock in the second T20I against Ireland at the Clontarf Cricket Club in Dublin on Sunday 12 May.
Rizwan once again proved to be a savior and hero for the Men in Green as the 31-year-old batsman played a remarkable 46-ball knock of 75* laced with six boundaries and four sixes to help the tourists beat Ireland by seven. wickets in the second T20I.
With this, the Pakistan cricket team equaled the ongoing three-match T20I series against Ireland. In this match, Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman (78 runs off 40 balls) shared a 140-run third-wicket stand to help Pakistan bounce back in style in the T20I series.
Mohammad Rizwan makes history for Pakistan in T20Is
During his impressive innings, Rizwan became the sixth highest scorer in T20I cricket, behind Virat Kohli (4037), Rohit Sharma (3974), Babar Azam (3880), Martin Guptill (3531) and Paul Sterling (3510). Rizwan also has the most Man of the Match awards for Pakistan in T20Is after bagging the honor for his knock in the second T20I against Ireland.
The star wicketkeeper-batsman surpassed Mohammad Hafeez, Shadab Khan and Shahid Afridi, who have 11 Man of the Match awards, with his tally of 12, and became the first Pakistani to have the highest Man of the Match award.
Meanwhile, Rizwan expressed his admiration for Kohli and praised his influence on Pakistani batsmen when he was told about the Indian batting legend and how he was the only two batsmen with an average above 50 in T20I cricket during the post-match presentation. match in Dublin.
We learned a lot from Virat Kohli: Mohamamd Rizwan
Mohammad Rizwan said in the post-match presentation: “Virat Kohli is a good player and we learned a lot from him. I respect that. I don’t look at my numbers. If you look at the average and only focus on the averages, you are an average player. If you look at the match situation and conditions, then it is better. You must play according to the demands of the match situation.”
Notably, Kohli has so far amassed 4037 runs in 109 T20I innings with an impressive T20I average of 51.75 and strike rate of 138.15. On the other hand, Rizwan maintains a solid average of 50.38 in T20Is, where he has 3124 runs to his name in 82 innings at a strike rate of 127.92.
Speaking about his crucial partnership with Zaman, Rizwan noted: “It was not an easy chase because the Ireland players knew their conditions better. They gave us a tough time early on, but we decided that, chasing 194, we had to attack. “You are always under pressure when you lose, especially with the 2024 T20 World Cup just around the corner.”
Ireland and Pakistan will play the decisive third T20I match of the series on May 14 in Dublin. The Men in Green will then embark on their tour of England where they will play four T20Is before heading to the United States to participate in the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024.