Salman Agha showers praise on Sufiyan Muqeem, delighted with Pakistan's brand of cricket against Zimbabwe
Dec 03, 2024
Bulawayo [Zimbabwe], December 3 : Pakistan stand-in captain Salman Ali Agha hailed the spin duo of Sufiyan Muqeem and Abrar Ahmed after their breathtaking display in the second T20I against Zimbabwe on Tuesday.
While Abrar shined in patches, Muqeem stole the headlines for himself. He overwhelmed Zimbabwe with his variations and pace to go through the hosts' batting lineup.
Abrar turned out to be a bit costly with his figures of 1/21 in three overs, Muqeem outshined everyone with a staggering five-wicket haul after giving away just three runs in his 2.4-over spell. He was adjudged the Player of the Match for his brilliance with the ball.
Even though the toss went against them, Pakistan was able to bundle out Zimbabwe on 57, the lowest by the hosts in the history of the shortest format of cricket.
"We have plans, and they are executing really well, the way they are doing is outstanding. The way Sufiyan and Abrar bowled today is outstanding. I'm very happy, and the team is very happy," Salman said in the post-match presentation.
Before touring Zimbabwe, Pakistan suffered a T20I series whitewash in Australia, even after the hosts rested their key players for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
With a thumping 10-wicket victory and taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, Salman admitted that securing the T20I series in Zimbabwe was their objective.
"We have not won a T20I series recently, we did not win the T20I series in Australia, we wanted to win here. We want to continue like this in the upcoming series as well," Salman added.
Salman expressed delight with the brand of cricket that Pakistan has played against Zimbabwe and established the Men in Green as a "quality side," that can win even if the toss goes against them.
"That's how we want to play. We don't want to play how the toss goes. We are a quality side. If we bat first, we can win the game. If we bowl first, we can win the game. The way the youngsters are performing is heartening and good to see," he concluded.
With the series already in favour of Pakistan, the visitors will play the final T20I of the series on Thursday.
