Pakistan were on the verge of elimination in the T20 World Cup. They lost their first two matches and given the form India and South Africa were in the group stage, Pakistan had little or no chance of making the semis. But things worked mysteriously for the Men in Green as they bounced back beat the Proteas, win two more matches and down New Zealand in the semis to make the final for the first time since they had lifted the title in 2009. Following their qualification for the final, Pakistan opener Mohammad Rizwan revealed his conversation with head coach Saqlain Mushtaq after their opener against India and how his words came true. (Pakistan vs England Live Score, T20 World Cup 2022)
After Pakistan beat New Zealand in the semis in Sydney, former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh asked how was the dressing room scenario when Pakistan were on the brink of elimination a few days back and how it changed after Netherlands shocked the Proteas to aid their road to the semis.
Rizwan then recalled his conversation with Saqlain saying that after Pakistan had lost the match, he had told him that there would be an upset somewhere in the group stage. He added that Pakistan team members really enjoyed Netherlands' win against South Africa on the last day of the group-stage tie.
“Agar honestly pucha jae na jab humlog pehli dafa aap logo se match haare the, humare coach aksar keheta hai ki humlog kuch different karne wale hai. Saqlain bhai especially keheta hain. Pehla match humlog haar gaye. India ne jeeta huya match humse le gaya. Phir Saqlain bhai ne kaha ki woh cheeze puri ho rahi hai jo humlogo ne chaya kuch different hoga aab. Maine bola abhi nehi huya, kahi kuch ek upset hone wala hai. Zimbabwe se jab haare tab Saqlain bhai ne kaha aab woh cheeze puri ho rahi aur aab yaha e humlog final keliye qualify karenge. But phir woh Netherlands and South Africa wala jo match tha. Duae bohot ki thi, pure Pakistan ne ki thi. Aur humlog pavilion se match dekh rahe the. Woh match jaise humlog ne enjoy kiya aur koi match nehi kiya (If you honestly ask me, when we lost to India in the first game Saqlain told me that there would be something different that would happen. I told him, ‘Not yet because there would be some upset somewhere’. When he lost to Zimbabwe, Saqlain told me the same thing. But then the match that happened between Netherlands and South Africa. We were watching from the pavilion. We did not enjoy any other match like we did in that game),” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Agar honestly pucha jae na jab humlog pehli dafa aap logo se match haare the, humare coach aksar keheta hai ki humlog kuch different karne wale hai. Saqlain bhai especially keheta hain. Pehla match humlog haar gaye. India ne jeeta huya match humse le gaya. Phir Saqlain bhai ne kaha ki woh cheeze puri ho rahi hai jo humlogo ne chaya kuch different hoga aab. Maine bola abhi nehi huya, kahi kuch ek upset hone wala hai. Zimbabwe se jab haare tab Saqlain bhai ne kaha aab woh cheeze puri ho rahi aur aab yaha e humlog final keliye qualify karenge. But phir woh Netherlands and South Africa wala jo match tha. Duae bohot ki thi, pure Pakistan ne ki thi. Aur humlog pavilion se match dekh rahe the. Woh match jaise humlog ne enjoy kiya aur koi match nehi kiya (If you honestly ask me, when we lost to India in the first game Saqlain told me that there would be something different that would happen. I told him, ‘Not yet because there would be some upset somewhere’. When he lost to Zimbabwe, Saqlain told me the same thing. But then the match that happened between Netherlands and South Africa. We were watching from the pavilion. We did not enjoy any other match like we did in that game),” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Pakistan will now be aiming for their second T20 World Cup trophy, after 2009 win, when they take on England in the final in Melbourne on Sunday.