Left-arm pacer Salman Mirza bowled a brilliant spell of 3/14 as Pakistan crushed South Africa by nine wickets with 41 balls to spare in the second T20I of the three-match series at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Mirza was adjudged Player of the Match. The series is now level at 1-1.
In the post-match press conference, Mirza credited Pakistan’s bowling coach, Ashley Noffke, for helping him devise plans according to the conditions.
“I’ve worked a lot with our bowling coach, Aash [Ashley Noffke], on how to bowl effectively according to the conditions and how to execute our plans properly,” he said.
Regarding facing the Proteas batters for the first time, the 31-year-old pacer said that he is not afraid of being exposed; rather, he always prepares multiple plans for different situations and executes them as needed.
“I wouldn’t say I’ve been exposed. It depends on how the pitch behaves tomorrow and what the match situation is. You always have a Plan A, and if that doesn’t work, you’re ready with other plans. Everything depends on the day,” he added.
Mirza dedicated his Player of the Match award to his mother and thanked her for all her prayers.
“I dedicate this performance to my mother. I believe it’s all because of her prayers that such performances are possible,” he concluded.
Replacing Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mirza struck with the new ball and rattled South Africa’s top order, from which they could never recover throughout the match. The Lahore-based cricketer produced a perfect delivery in the second ball of the first over to dismiss Reeza Hendricks for a duck, the ball swinging in to hit the top of the leg stump. In the last ball of the third over, Mirza bowled a slower delivery that took the top edge of Tony de Zorzi’s bat and was caught by Abrar Ahmed. On the fourth ball of the fifth over, he bowled Matthew Breetzke with another slower ball.
None of the South African batters were able to make a significant contribution, and they were bundled out in 19.2 overs for 110, which Pakistan chased down easily. With this win, the hosts level the series.
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