Mohammad Rizwan "I saw how Asad Shafiq batted with the tail and learnt a lot from watching him"
Mohammad Rizwan speaking after play today in a virtual press conference:
This is Test cricket and sometimes you will get good partnerships across the 5 days and the match can fluctuate. South Africa has some good batsmen, but we have some good bowlers and I feel that we will succeed once this partnership is broken.
When I started my innings yesterday the pitch was unplayable and I managed to get through that difficult period and I went on to make a century. The pitch has improved but there is still something in it especially for the spinners. The South African batsmen counter-attacked today but tomorrow is another day.
Every match is important to win and our aim is always to win every match. Before this match we had a meeting and we all said that we will not go for a draw and we all agreed that we wanted to win the series 2-0. This was the message that was also given to us from the captain and the coach and not to think about a draw. We are still on that plan and have this mindset.
Yesterday I was struggling a bit, finding the edge but I decided to counter-attack. The Almighty always rewards the brave and I decided that I would bat in a brave way rather than play defensively. At one point it looked like we would just get a lead of 230-240 on this pitch but our bravery took us to a lead of 370.
You have to learn to bat with the tail and at this level you cannot make any excuses such as that you were batting with the tail. Asad Shafiq batted well with the tail and Shahid Aslam said to me that I should learn from Asad Shafiq on how to bat with the tailenders. Batting with the tailenders is tough and I watched how Asad Shafiq batted with the tail and learnt a lot from watching him.
I still believe that this pitch is good for the spinners but 2 pace bowlers have taken 5fers in the match and of course Linde has too. It’s all about breaking the current partnership and tomorrow is a fresh day and our strength is our bowling and I’m sure we’ll get into them.
Prayers are with me and they do help in my success. Cricket is all about pressure, whether it’s domestic cricket, club cricket. You will get a good ball at whatever level you are playing at. Even Under-15 or Under-16 level a young bowler can get you out by bowling a good ball.
To me it doesn’t matter who the opponent is, Bangladesh, South Africa or Australia - the fact is that whoever plays best on the day and handles the pressure best, will win the match.
I believe in hard work and the rest is up to the Almighty. If my effort and hard work is less than the opponent then I won’t succeed. I always try to avoid putting myself under pressure and like to play with a positive mindset and open mind.
A lot of my team-mates gave me advice overnight and this morning. Yasir Shah was teasing me saying that he doesn’t consider me a batsman as I haven’t scored a century and if you score a century today then I will accept you as a batsman, as even I can score 50s.
When I went back to the pavilion after the innings ended Sarfaraz Ahmed hugged me. It’s a team game, it’s healthy competition between Sarfaraz and I but we have a lot of respect and admiration for each other.
We are all focussed on serving our country and playing for the star which is on the chest of our shirt. It doesn’t matter whether we are from Sindh, Balochistan or Karachi, we are all focussed on the same goal. We may be from different regions or play for different teams in domestic cricket but when we play for our country we are one.
Mohammad Rizwan speaking after play today in a virtual press conference:
This is Test cricket and sometimes you will get good partnerships across the 5 days and the match can fluctuate. South Africa has some good batsmen, but we have some good bowlers and I feel that we will succeed once this partnership is broken.
When I started my innings yesterday the pitch was unplayable and I managed to get through that difficult period and I went on to make a century. The pitch has improved but there is still something in it especially for the spinners. The South African batsmen counter-attacked today but tomorrow is another day.
Every match is important to win and our aim is always to win every match. Before this match we had a meeting and we all said that we will not go for a draw and we all agreed that we wanted to win the series 2-0. This was the message that was also given to us from the captain and the coach and not to think about a draw. We are still on that plan and have this mindset.
Yesterday I was struggling a bit, finding the edge but I decided to counter-attack. The Almighty always rewards the brave and I decided that I would bat in a brave way rather than play defensively. At one point it looked like we would just get a lead of 230-240 on this pitch but our bravery took us to a lead of 370.
You have to learn to bat with the tail and at this level you cannot make any excuses such as that you were batting with the tail. Asad Shafiq batted well with the tail and Shahid Aslam said to me that I should learn from Asad Shafiq on how to bat with the tailenders. Batting with the tailenders is tough and I watched how Asad Shafiq batted with the tail and learnt a lot from watching him.
I still believe that this pitch is good for the spinners but 2 pace bowlers have taken 5fers in the match and of course Linde has too. It’s all about breaking the current partnership and tomorrow is a fresh day and our strength is our bowling and I’m sure we’ll get into them.
Prayers are with me and they do help in my success. Cricket is all about pressure, whether it’s domestic cricket, club cricket. You will get a good ball at whatever level you are playing at. Even Under-15 or Under-16 level a young bowler can get you out by bowling a good ball.
To me it doesn’t matter who the opponent is, Bangladesh, South Africa or Australia - the fact is that whoever plays best on the day and handles the pressure best, will win the match.
I believe in hard work and the rest is up to the Almighty. If my effort and hard work is less than the opponent then I won’t succeed. I always try to avoid putting myself under pressure and like to play with a positive mindset and open mind.
A lot of my team-mates gave me advice overnight and this morning. Yasir Shah was teasing me saying that he doesn’t consider me a batsman as I haven’t scored a century and if you score a century today then I will accept you as a batsman, as even I can score 50s.
When I went back to the pavilion after the innings ended Sarfaraz Ahmed hugged me. It’s a team game, it’s healthy competition between Sarfaraz and I but we have a lot of respect and admiration for each other.
We are all focussed on serving our country and playing for the star which is on the chest of our shirt. It doesn’t matter whether we are from Sindh, Balochistan or Karachi, we are all focussed on the same goal. We may be from different regions or play for different teams in domestic cricket but when we play for our country we are one.
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If he followed Asad then his downfall was about to start.
