Pakistan Fakhar Zaman has revealed that the team was ‘praying’ for no resumption after the second rain break as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by 21 runs via the Duckworth-Lewis Stern method (DLS) at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium on Saturday.
Receiving ‘Player of the Match’ for his inspiring innings of 126 off 83 deliveries, hitting eight boundaries and 11 sixes, Zaman in the post-match presentation said it was his day.
“We were chasing 400 and that was our plan, just to see off the first 4 overs and thankfully it was my day. To be honest, I was lucky a few times but really enjoyed this inning. We know every game is a do or die for us and we have decided to play aggressively and we are playing with that mind so everybody is just trying to score runs,” said Zaman.
“We were also praying that we don’t want any more game to happen (while waiting anxiously in the dressing room during the rain break) because it was already 9 and half hours and we knew that DLS would come into the equation,” Zaman added.
Zaman said they wanted to play with an aggressive mindset and will continue playing this way in the tournament.
“This is one of the best (knocks in ODI cricket) but I will always rank my 193 in South Africa highly, but I really enjoyed this game and New Zealand are a great side, so definitely one of the best. We wanted to play with that aggressive mindset and we will play aggressively in the next game also,” said Zaman.
Pakistan still has a chance of qualifying for the semi-finals, having moved up to fifth place in the points table with a win over New Zealand. Pakistan will now face England in their last league match at Eden Gardens, Kolkata on November 10.
