ICC World Cup 2019 | Credit to batsmen for taking us to 350, says Sarfraz Ahmed

Pakistan were put to bat first by England and openers Fakhar Zaman and Imam-Ul-Haq gave a cracking start by blasting 82 runs off the first 14 overs. The duo was dismissed soon but Babar Azam, who scored 63 off 63 and Mohammad Hafeez, who scored 84 off 62 took Pakistan’s total to 279 in 42.4 overs before getting dismissed. Sarfaraz Ahmed too scored a fifty and ensured his side reached 348 at the end of 50 overs and did not fail to credit the other batsmen for their exploits.

“Credit to batsmen for taking us to 350. Game starts at 10.30, so the first ten overs are very important. If you lose early wickets, you can't this sort of a total. Fakhar and Imam did a really good job,” Sarfaraz said at the post-match presentation ceremony, reported Cricbuzz.

In what seems like a new trend at the World Cup, Pakistan too opened their attack against England with spin bowler Shadab Ahmed, who dismissed Jason Roy in his second over despite being hit for two fours in the first. The spinner also picked centurion Joe Root’s wicket later on. Wahab Riaz picked the highest three wickets despite being hit for 82 runs whereas Mohammad Amir picked two followed by Hafeez and Shoaib Malik with one wicket each. The skipper was all praise for his bowlers.

“Bowlers bowled really well today. Started with Shadab today, because we know they're not good batsmen against spin - Roy and Bairstow. Fielding a very important part,” expressed the 35-year-old.

Pakistan ended their 11-match losing streak with a win over the favourites and reckoned that it will serve as a confidence booster.

“It's a great team effort. Confidence booster for the future. Hopefully we'll play better cricket from here. Not easy to come back from 11 losses in a row,” remarked Sarfaraz.

The Man of the Match Hafeez revealed that the team still had confidence in them despite the terrible losing streak. 

“Everyone believed we can win the game. We were playing good cricket before but we weren't winning the crucial stages. Today, everyone really chipped in, and gave everything required in the situation. We were very confident. We practised well yesterday, had a good meeting, and we needed one winning performance to start us off,” he said.

Hafeez came to bat in the 21st over of the match and struck a boundary off Moeen Ali on the front off in the very first delivery he faced. The all-rounder reckoned that he was playing his natural game.

“ I was trying to play my natural shots. The first ball I hit, I thought why not apply the pressure straightaway? Sometimes you have to take calculated risks and that really worked for me this game,” he signed off.