PAK vs NZ: Haris Rauf Comments On Bowling His Best Career Figures In T20Is

Pakistan National Cricket Team bowler Haris Rauf rocked New Zealand’s batting line-up with figures of 4/18 in the first T20I of the two side’s ongoing 5-match T20 series.

Pak took on NZ in Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium in the first match of the ODI/T20 series tour. The men in green notched up 182 while batting first. While the Blackcaps, thanks to Rauf, were bowled out for 94.

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In the post-match presentation, Haris Rauf was unsurprisingly announced the Player of the Match. When asked to comment on his bowling performance, he had this to say.

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“It was important to put up this performance because I was playing after a long time for Pakistan. On this pitch, I tried to bowl stump-to-stump. If you start well, like Shaheen and Zaman gave today, you gain a lot of confidence. Your role gets defined a lot more when you have such a good bowling attack.”

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Rauf went on to say that captain Babar Azam, who was playing his 100th T20I, demanded four wickets from him. Something that the pacer delivered.

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Haris Rauf had last played for Pakistan in January 2023 in an ODI series against, coincidently, New Zealand. In the meantime, he played in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for 2023 champions Lahore Qalandars, taking 17 wickets in 13 matches.

Haris Rauf had previously attributed his improvement as a bowler to Babar Azam

In the last three years, Haris Rauf has emerged as one of the deadliest bowlers in the world. He possesses bullet speed and the ability to move the ball around. The 29-year-old has attributed Pakistan’s captain Babar Azam for playing a crucial role in the bowler’s improvement in performance.

Rauf made his debut for the national side under Babar’s captaincy in 2020. Since then, he has represented Pakistan 76 times and is now an important member of the team’s setup.

Giving Babar Azam the credit for helping him better his bowling, Haris Rauf said this in a recent interview with Dawn –

“I strongly believe that the improvement in my performance is all because of Babar Azam. We played really good and exciting cricket in the last two years. In this period, we emerged as a good unit, especially in white-ball cricket, and the credit goes to our skipper Babar Azam, who trusted the abilities of players, which ultimately gave us the confidence.”

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Haris Rauf will look to continue his fine form and win the ongoing series against New Zealand for Pakistan.

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