T20 World Cup 2021: Matthew Hayden And Vernon Philander Choose Their Standout Performers Of The Tournament
Pakistan’s outgoing consultants, Matthew Hayden and Vernon Philander, picked their standout performers of the Pakistan team in the ongoing T20 World Cup. They were brought into the side as temporary consultants until the end of the tournament.
Babar Azam’s men crashed out of the tournament after suffering a 5-wicket loss to Australia on Thursday. It was their first defeat in the event but the one that put them out of contention for a spot in the finals.
Following the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, Philander and Hayden had a conversation where they chose their best players, and neither felt Shaheen Afridi deserved a mention.
“Haris (Rauf) is the one for me that stands out. Shaheen is of course a world-class performer. But, in terms of maturity, Haris is the one that stands out for me,” Philander said.
Rizzi and Babar set the platform for every game – Matthew Hayden
Matthew Hayden mentioned that the openers, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, put up consistent partnerships at the top of the order, none bigger than the 153-run opening stand against India in their first match of the Super 12 stage.
“Our batters were just brilliant in this tournament. In particular, inside the powerplay, Rizzi (Rizwan) and Babar, those two set the platform every game. Powerplay tends to be where you dominate T20 cricket. The balance of power at the death is very key, in particular, I think that 17th over from the batting sense, we’re pretty good there.
“Someone like Asif (Ali) coming and smashing. They have got some unexplored talent as well. Looking at Khusi (Khushdil Shah) and Haider (Ali), these guys have got serious talent and power,” Hayden said.
Having defeated the in-form Pakistan team, Australia now moves on to play against New Zealand in the grand final on Sunday.
