"Obviously, we..."- Mohammed Rizwan's hilarious reply when asked about Pakistan's chances vs India on Sunday
Pakistan dominated the game against Hong Kong on Friday to qualify for the "Super Four" stage. The Men in Green made history by beating the opposition by the biggest margin in the history of T20I cricket. They thrashed Hong Kong by a massive margin of 155 runs to deliver a strong statement to other teams in the tournament.
With this win, they have become the second team from their group and the fourth team to qualify for the next round of the Asia Cup 2022. Now they will face arch rivals India on Sunday in their first match of the "Super Four" stage.
Mohammed Rizwan won the "Man of the Match" award for his unbeaten knock of 78* runs off 57 balls with six fours and one six. He, along with Fakhar Zaman (53 off 41), added a 116 run partnership for the second wicket. Then, in the end, he added a quick third wicket partnership of 64 runs with Khushdil Shah (33* off 15) to help Pakistan make 193/2.
In reply, Hong Kong got all out for their lowest total of 38 runs and lost the match by 155 runs. After the match, Rizwan came out to address the media and shared his thoughts on the next match against India on Sunday.
In a video shared by the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) on Twitter, the 30-year-old was seen talking about their next match. He also hopes for a best of three matches against the Men in Blue in the ongoing tournament. When asked about the match, he said that they are looking at it as a best of three with India in this tournament.
Watch @iMRizwanPak share 🎤 his excitement about upcoming fixtures, and the #Epic India 🇮🇳 Pakistan 🇵🇰 saga. ⁰⁰#PAKvHK #ACC #AsiaCup2022 #GetReadyForEpic pic.twitter.com/NG0INgpr0j
— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) September 2, 2022
Rizwan added that Pakistan is looking at every match one by one and they want to focus on the match rather than the opponent. He stated that the main aim of the team is to improve with every game because the country wants this.
Rizwan said, "The players in our current team are putting in the work and effort. There is a sense of camaraderie and we are trying to fulfil what our nation demands from us. And, as we all know, the end result is in the hands of the Almighty."
Both India and Pakistan will also face Sri Lanka and Afghanistan in one match each in the "Super Four" stage. Notably, the last game in the group stage between the two arch rivals ended with a nail-biting finish, and it was India who won that game by five wickets.
But the massive victory against Hong Kong must have boosted the confidence of the Pakistani team and they will look to carry on the same performance against India on Sunday. The "Super Four" stage will start on Saturday, with a match between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka. The final of the Asia Cup will be played on Sunday, September 11 at Dubai Stadium.