Mohammad Rizwan delivers a shocking Virat Kohli revelation

Pakistan wicket-keeper batsman Mohammad Rizwan paid his respects to Virat Kohli after the former became man of the match in the 2nd T20I win against Ireland.

The Men in Green had arrived at the 2nd match of the 3-match T20I series after losing the 1st T20I shockingly at the Clontarf Cricket Ground. But yesterday, Pakistan made amends and came out as an improved unit to pick up a clinical victory to bring the series on level terms. Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman had laid the foundation with Azam Khan finishing off the match.

What did Mohammad Rizwan say about Virat Kohli?

While speaking in the post-match presentation while collecting the MOTM award, Mohammad Rizwan had words of appreciation for Virat Kohli. Rizwan's statement has come just a month before Pakistan takes on India at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 Group stage match at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York.

Mohammad Rizwan did not say many things about Virat Kohli as he just said that latter is a very good player and that he learnt a lot from his batting style. He concluded by saying that he has enormous respect for the former India captain. "He is a good player, and we learned a lot from him; I respect him." - Rizwan said in the post-match interview.

Certainly, Mohammad Rizwan taking inspiration from Virat Kohli worked for him yesterday as he was key behind his team's solid comeback. Having arrived as an opener with youngster Saim Ayub, Rizwan took his time to settle in and then bashed the Irish bowlers all over the park.

Following Ayub's dismissal for 6 runs in just the 3rd ball of the 2nd innings and Babar Azam's departure for a 3-ball duck, Rizwan took charge with Fakhar Zaman. For Pakistan to win, the duo of Rizwan and Zaman had to put together a solid partnership and make sure they didn't lose their wicket away cheaply.

And that's what both of them did. Mohammad Rizwan carried on with his aggressive style and he was being boosted by the huge sixes from Fakhar Zaman, who had scored just 20 runs in the 1st T20I. Zaman and Rizwan eventually stood for an outstanding 140-run partnership for the 3rd wicket with the left-hand batter losing his wicket in the 15th over after a 40-ball 78-run knock.

After Zaman's fall, Azam Khan finally scored more than 10 runs in T20Is

But there was no stopping Mohammad Rizwan as he continued to batter the Ireland bowlers and he was joined by the team's explosive batter Azam Khan. Azam had never scored more than 10 runs in all of his previous T20 international appearances but that wasn't the case yesterday.

Azam Khan made full use of the momentum that Pakistan had with them during their chase. The 25-year-old smacked 4 sixes and a four finish to the game off with his 30 runs off just 10 deliveries. Mohammad Rizwan was adjudged as man of the match for 75 off 46 which included 6 fours and 4 sixes.