Mohammad Rizwan waged a lone war for Pakistan during the recently concluded fourth T20I against New Zealand, where his side posted 158/5 while batting first. New Zealand comfortably chased down the target in the 19th overs to extend their lead to 4-0 in the series.
Rizwan carried his bat through the innings, scoring 90 runs from 60 balls, laced with six fours and two sixes. However, he is facing heavy criticism on social media for his inferior strike-rate in terms of T20I cricket.
Rizwan is the most terrible batsman to play this format of the cricket.
The worst thing about him is he doesn't get out when he's dropping a stinker.
It's 20th over and he's still playing dots vs Tim Southee.
What an insanely pathetic batter in T20s.— Abdullah (@abdullahhammad4) January 19, 2024
This makes a causal fan wonder why are fans trolling a player who top-scored as well as scored more than 50% of the team’s runs.
On a tricky pitch of Hagley Oval, Pakistan lost wickets at an alarming rate while Mohammad Rizwan played cautiously from the other end. However, at one point he played 26 consecutive balls without scoring a boundary, which slowed down the scoring rate.
Rizwan ends up with an unbeaten 90 off 63, and while it wasn't the perfect T20 innings, here are some things to consider:
1. He scored nearly 57% of his team's runs
2. He was one of 3 batters to score at a SR north of 100 (142.85)
3. The rest of the team scored 68 off 57
— Behram Qazi 🇵🇰 🇨🇦 (@DeafMango) January 19, 2024
Rizwan’s 90 came at a strike-rate of 142.85, which was third-best among Pakistan batters, however, the sample size of other batter is small to compare.
Mohammad Nawaz was the second-highest scorer with 21 off 9 at strike-rate of 233.33, while, Babar Azam’s strike-rate was 172.72, who scored 19 off 11.
But fans are criticizing Rizwan’s intent throughout the innings, calling his innings selfish despite the fact that he scored most runs.
We lost as usual! Told you Rizwan played for himself, he didn't have runs to show for in the first three matches so decided to remain not out today and we got a below par today. When you are set, you play like Mitchell and Phillips and not like Rizwan! #NZvsPAK
— Alisha Imran (@Alishaimran111) January 19, 2024
Rizwan has faced 60+ balls in a T20I game 2 times in last 10 months. Pak was 20-30 runs short and lost both games.
— Khayam (@KhayamSays) January 19, 2024
Muhammad Rizwan is the Most Selfish & Useless player of this Era.
No impact whatsoever.
Always Score Match losing runs.
Strict action should be Taken against Selfish & Politicians Like Rizwan.#PakvsNz— Cric mate (@Crickmate07) January 19, 2024
Rizwan is considered the most selfish and useless player of this era, displaying no impact and consistently scoring runs that lead to match losses. It's imperative to take strict action against selfish players and politicians, with Rizwan serving as an example.#PAKvNZ #Rizwan pic.twitter.com/nppUV7F2oc
— Syed M. Saad Shams (@SMSaadOfficial) January 19, 2024
Rizwan did well in the first half but he didn't accelerate the way he should. He kept dealing in dots and single doubles jb k 5 6 wickets pari thi. Thanks to nawaz for this total tho. Rizwan is a little selfish and we have seen it many times.
— biskoot (@biscuuute56) January 19, 2024
A breakdown of Mohammad Rizwan’s innings earlier today:
14 off 10 balls
24 off 18 balls
36 off 25 balls
46 off 35 balls
52 off 41 balls
62 off 48 balls
79 off 55 balls
90 off 63 balls#NZvPAK #Cricket— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) January 19, 2024
Let us know what do you think in the comments, whether Rizwan was the culprit for Pakistan’s loss today or he somehow saved some grace amidst crumbling batting performance by others.
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