Pakistan crushed South Africa in the epic clash on November 3, Thursday and the team under the leadership of Babar Azam are keeping their hopes to make it to the knockouts alive with the win. Shoaib Akhtar, who predicted that his country would lose against the Proteas, said that he was happy to be proven wrong.
On the back of stupendous performances from Shadab Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed and Shaheen Afridi, the Men in Green clinched an emphatic win against the mighty South Africans. Lauding Shadab for his allround performance, Akhtar said that the player proved everyone wrong, including the pacer himself.
“What a great comeback from Pakistan cricket team. Well done! No one was able to beat South Africa but Pakistan have shown they are beatable. I really, really hope our prediction goes wrong and Pakistan somehow try to qualify for the semi-finals,” India Today quoted Akhtar as saying.
Impactful performance by our boys today. I love it when they prove me wrong. You never know which Pakistan turns up on which day!!
Bowlers, come on. Go & win it from here. pic.twitter.com/NcTbNGEn6d— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) November 3, 2022
You have done an amazing job: Akhtar
Akhtar, who was not able to control his excitement post Pakistan’s win, also went on to laud Mohammad Haris for his exceptional cameo. For the unversed, the batter scored a quickfire 28 off just 11 balls before he returned to the pavilion off Anirch Nortje’s delivery.
“Well done, Shadab. Well done, Iftikhar. Again, you have proved so many people wrong, including me. You have done an amazing job! Haris, where was he? Why did Pakistan not play him before? Pakistan have done a wonderful job. I am happy that Pakistan were able to post a good total on a good batting pitch,” said Akhtar further.
Concerning the match, after putting on 185 runs on the board, after electing to bat first, the Men in Green also carried on the form with the ball as they restricted the Proteas to 108 runs, who chased the revised target of 142 off 14 overs.
Babar, who was delighted on the win, said that the team performed well and added he would back everyone as each of them is a match-winner. ‘Very happy the way team performed. We are not upto the mark – me and Rizwan. But the way Haris played – different player – set the momentum. And the way Shadab and Ifti finished the innings – outstanding. To be honest, everyone is my best player. Everyone is my match-winner,” Babar said in the post-match interview.
