Mohammad Amir won the Player of the Match award after Pakistan beat Canada by seven wickets in their third match of the T20 World Cup 2024 at the Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in New York on Tuesday.
Pakistan restricted Canada to 106-7 while opting to bowl first and Amir was the pick of the bowlers as he concluded his four-over spell at 2/13 and was named the MVP of the match.
This was a must-win match for Pakistan as they had lost their first two matches of T20 World Cup 2024 against the United States (USA) and India in Dallas and New York respectively to remain alive in their pursuit of the last eight of the tournament.
Talking after the match, Amir stated that as a bowler, he is always ready to bowl no matter the conditions.
"As a bowler, you have to adopt the conditions, what the conditions are demanding. My role is very clear, what I'm going to do with the new ball and at the death. That's why I'm getting that success. [On Pakistan getting off the mark] That was a very important win. One more, who knows," Amir said after the match.
Chasing the 107-run target, Pakistan had a tough start as they failed to score a boundary in the first four overs. Saim Ayub soon departed for the pavilion after scoring just six runs, leaving the Green Shirts 20-1 in 4.2 overs.
However, Pakistan continued to play with caution as Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan formed a 63-run partnership.
Azam lost his wicket for 33 runs but Rizwan (53 off 53) remained on the pitch and took Pakistan over the line by chasing the target in 17.3 overs.
Earlier in the first innings, the day belonged to Pakistan bowlers as the Canadian batters had no answers to their attack. Mohammad Amir, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf all did their part with the ball as the Green Shirts managed to restrict Canada to 106-7 in New York.
For Canada, Aaron Johnson played a valiant knock and scored 52 runs on 44 balls with the help of eight boundaries.
Amir and Rauf bagged two wickets each while Naseem and Shaheen managed to take one each.
- Mohammad Amir
