SA vs PAK: Mohammad Rizwan smashes a spectacular half-century while observing Ramzan fast

Pakistan cricketer Mohammad Rizwan is garnering immense praise for his spectacular show in the third match against South Africa, where his remarkable knock of 73 from just 47 deliveries alongside a sensational Babar Azam century guided his team to their highest successful chase of the format.

While Rizwan deserves every accolade for the kind of form he has been in in the recent past, what made his knock more special was that it came while the batsman was on fast. The auspicious month of Ramadan is ongoing, and following religious duties with the same commitment as his professional duties, Rizwan took the field while practicing fast.

The 28-year-old has been in blazing form in the T20I format. Notably, he was the leading run-getter in the home series against South Africa earlier this year, where he accumulated 197 runs at a whopping average of 98.50. He fought alone in the first T20I, where his century (104* from 64) played a pivotal role in Pakistan’s victory.

Rizwan followed his century with scores 51 and 42 and during his brilliant run of form, the wicketkeeper-batsman also became the first Pakistan player to record three consecutive 50-plus scores in T20Is.

Pakistan take a 2-1 lead in the series

Rizwan shone with the bat in the first T20I of the ongoing series, where his 50-ball 74 effort earned him the Player of the Match award in Pakistan’s 4-wicket victory. He followed that with a rare duck in the second game but made up for it entirely in the third T20I.

Pakistani bowlers were taken to the cleaners after they inserted South Africa to bat as the hosts racked up 203/5 at the close of their innings on the back of half-centuries from Janneman Malan and Aiden Markram.

Having never chased a target of this magnitude in their T20I history, it needed Pakistan to do something special during their attempt, and they did that courtesy Babar Azam, who went on to record the highest score for his nation in the format (122 off 59) while being involved in a record 197-run stand with Rizwan for the opening wicket.

The dominant display from the duo meant that the visitors went about to chase the target with 9 wickets in hands and two overs to spare. The two teams will meet each other in the last game of the series on 16th April 2021 at Centurion.