Pakistan's white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan expressed pride and gratitude following the team's historic 3-0 ODI series whitewash victory against South Africa.
During the post-match conference, Rizwan praised the team's collective effort and highlighted the significance of the achievement.
"Always a proud moment. The nation expects such things from us. We are happy. The whole team gave their best. In the second ODI, everyone performed. That was a perfect team game," said Rizwan.
Reflecting on the challenges of playing away from home, he credited the players' trust in each other.
"It is not easy playing away from your country. The guys had trust in each other. (On Saim Ayub) I don't want to praise him too much. We trust him and believe in his talent," he added.
He emphasized the intense challenges of facing strong teams like South Africa and Australia, underscoring how unity and trust within the squad were pivotal to their success.
"South Africa is always a tough, challenging series for us, and the same goes for Australia. But if you look at our guys, they stayed united and trusted each other. We focused on what the team required. Across the three ODIs, Allah helped us during difficult times, and that’s why we got the result," he concluded.
In the decisive third match, Pakistan clinched a 36-run victory, defending their total of 308/9.
Saim Ayub starred with a scintillating 101 off 94 balls, supported by half-centuries from Babar Azam (52) and Mohammad Rizwan (53).
Agha Salman added a quickfire 48 to push Pakistan to a competitive total.
South Africa’s chase was led by Heinrich Klaasen, who smashed 81 off 43 balls and Corbin Bosch who contributed 40 runs.
However, the hosts faltered and were bowled out for 271 in 42 overs.
Sufiyan Muqeem led the bowling attack with figures of 4/52, while Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah picked up two wickets each.
Mohammad Hasnain and Saim Ayub chipped in with one wicket apiece.
It is pertinent to mention that Pakistan made history by becoming the first team to whitewash South Africa in a bilateral ODI series at home.
With this remarkable series win, Pakistan not only secured a 3-0 whitewash over South Africa but also etched their name in history as the first team to accomplish this feat on South African soil.
This win further bolsters Mohammad Rizwan’s reputation as Pakistan’s captain.
The series marked his third consecutive ODI series victory as Pakistan’s skipper.
His tenure began with a historic 2-1 series win over Australia—their first on Australian soil since 2002—followed by a 2-1 victory against Zimbabwe earlier this month.
- Mohammad Rizwan
