Nawaz thanks Agha, Shadab for support after record-breaking century

AUCKLAND: Emerging batter Hasan Nawaz expressed gratitude to skipper Agha Salman and Shadab Khan for their support after his record-breaking against New Zealand, helping Pakistan to stay alive in the ongoing five-match T20I series.

The right-handed opener, one of the several youngsters in Pakistan’s squad for New Zealand T20Is, made his international debut on Sunday in Christchurch.

However, his international debut was far from ideal, as he was dismissed for a two-ball duck. His struggles continued in the second T20I, where he failed to open his account once again.

As a result, Nawaz became just the sixth batter from a full-member country in the history of the format to register the unwanted record of registering two ducks in their first two men’s T20I innings.

The 22-year-old, however, made an astounding comeback by smashing a 44-ball century – the fastest for Pakistan in the shortest format – and led the green shirts to a record record-shattering victory.

For his swashbuckling century, Hasan Nawaz was adjudged the player of the match.

Speaking at the post-match presentation ceremony, the top-order batter said that he was ‘disheartened’ after falling for consecutive ducks in his first two innings.

However, he said, skipper Salman Ali Agha and Shadab Khan supported him by highlighting his match-winning abilities.

“The way I got out in first two matches, I was very disheartened, but captain and Shadab supported me, told me I am a match-winning player and that helped me.

“I just had in my mind that I need to score a single first in international cricket and then after that I felt relaxed and the pressure was released.

“I had so much backing and I am so grateful to my captain.”