"Haris Rauf Is The Problem.."- Shaheen Afridi After New Zealand Beat Pakistan In T20I Series

Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi has leaped in defense of under-pressure Haris Rauf after he conceded 60 runs in the third NZ vs PAK T20I at the University Oval in Dunedin.

It was a must-win clash for the Men in Green after they lost the first two T20Is of the five-match series. The visitors needed to win the match at any cost to keep the series alive. However, the Shaheen Afridi-led side once again failed to do well with either bat or ball and suffered a 45-run loss.

Haris Rauf ended the game as one of Pakistan’s worst performers. He conceded 60 runs in his four overs to register his most expensive figures in T20Is. Of those 60 runs, he conceded 51 runs in just two overs. The right-arm pacer started on a good note, conceding just 2 runs in addition to taking the crucial wicket of Devon Conway in his first over.

Shaheen Afridi defends Haris Rauf:

Haris Rauf was taken to the cleaners when he came to bowl his second over which was the final over of the powerplay. New Zealand opener Finn Allen, who scored a blistering century in the game, slammed the Pakistan pacer for three sixes and two fours in the over as he conceded 28 runs.

Afridi reintroduced him into the attack in 12th over but it did not make much of a difference. Haris Rauf was up against Allen once again and he failed to win the battle for the second over in a row.

The hard-hitting batsman hit the pacer for three sixes in the over as the Pakistan star ended up conceding 23 runs. He managed to finish well, conceding only seven runs in his last over which was the 19th over of the innings.

The latest performance will only put more pressure on Haris Rauf who has faced severe criticism in recent times after failing to do well in addition to refusing to play the Test series in Australia. And the under-fire bowler has received some much-needed support from his captain during these challenging times.

Speaking at the end of the game, Afridi defended Haris Rauf and hailed him as Pakistan’s best T20 bowler, saying: “Haris Rauf is our best T20 bowler. When we win you rate him as the best, but when we lose then he is the problem. Matt Henry also conceded 50-plus runs, it happens.”

Talking about the game, Allen’s whirlwind knock of 137 runs propelled New Zealand to 224/7 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, Pakistan finished their innings on 179 for 7.