Pakistan middle-order batter Iftikhar Ahmed has held fast bowler Haris Rauf responsible for the team’s defeat against arch-rivals India in their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022 match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) on October 23, 2022.
Speaking during a recent podcast interview alongside Test cricketer Fawad Alam, Iftikhar reflected on Pakistan’s heartbreaking loss and expressed frustration over key moments in the match. He said those moments cost Pakistan the win and him a potential “Man of the Match” award.
“After every ball, I used to go from the boundary to Haris Rauf and kept telling him, ‘Bowl a yorker,’ but he has his own mind,” Iftikhar said.
He added, “Surely, I would have been the man of the match if we had won. Man of the match against India, it would have been special. But Kohli hit those incredible sixes and took the match away from us.”
In the high-voltage T20 World Cup clash, Pakistan posted 159-8 after being asked to bat first.
Shan Masood led the innings with a steady 52 off 42 balls, including five boundaries. Iftikhar Ahmed contributed a quick 51 off 34 deliveries, hitting two fours and four sixes.
However, early breakthroughs by Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya kept India within reach of the target.
During India’s chase, Pakistan appeared to be in control heading into the 18th over. India needed 31 runs off the final 12 balls when Haris Rauf bowled the penultimate over. He conceded just three runs off the first four deliveries before Virat Kohli struck two towering sixes.
That left India needing 16 runs off the final six balls, which they chased down on the last delivery.
Kohli played a match-winning innings of 82 off 53 balls, hitting six boundaries and four sixes. Hardik Pandya added an important 40 runs as India secured a dramatic victory.
