NEW YORK: Mohammad Rizwan’s half-century led Pakistan to a crucial victory over Canada in the 22nd match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 on Tuesday.
Earlier, Babar Azam chose to bowl first after winning the toss. Aaron Johnson’s 52 was the only bright spot for Canada as an inspired Pakistan restricted them to 106/7
In reply, Pakistan achieved the target in 17.3 overs for the loss of the 3 wickets.
Muhammad Rizwan with 53 runs while Captain Babar Azam with 33 runs remained the main scorers for Pakistan.
Pakistan struck early as Mohammad Amir bowled out Canadian opener Navneet Dhaliwal (4) in the third over. The bowlers maintained their momentum, with Shaheen Shah Afridi catching and bowling Pragat Singh (2) in the fifth over after a wicketless first over.
Pakistan’s dominance was clear with five wickets down, as Haris Rauf sought a hat-trick after dismissing Ravinderpal Singh in the 10th over.
Young pacer Naseem Shah took his first wicket in the 14th over, reducing Canada to 73/6. Despite the steady fall of wickets, Aaron Johnson fought back for Canada, hitting Imad for his third six before reaching his fifty.
However, Canadian captain Saad Bin Zafar was dismissed after scoring just 10 runs, sealing Pakistan’s strong position in the match.
In tomorrow’s matches, Sri Lanka will face Nepal, while Australia will meet Namibia.
Playing XIs
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saim Ayub, Babar Azam (capt), Fakhar Zaman, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Amir
Canada: Aaron Johnson, Navneet Dhaliwal, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Shreyas Movva (wk), Ravinderpal Singh, Dilon Heyliger, Saad Bin Zafar (capt), Kaleem Sana, Junaid Siddiqui, Jeremy Gordon
