World Cup 2019: Imad Wasim relishes guiding Pakistan to thrilling win against Afghanistan

Chasing 228, Pakistan were reeling at a time, losing five wickets. That's when Wasim played a knock of unbeaten 49 to bring Pakistan back into the game at Headingley.

Published : Jun 30, 2019 09:16 IST , Leeds

Imad Wasim and Wahab Riaz celebrate after beating Afghanistan.
Imad Wasim and Wahab Riaz celebrate after beating Afghanistan.
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Imad Wasim and Wahab Riaz celebrate after beating Afghanistan.

Imad Wasim had a smile on his face as addressed the scribes after guiding Pakistan to a narrow three-wicket win against Afghanistan on Saturday.

Chasing 228, Pakistan were reeling at a time, losing five wickets. That's when Wasim played a knock of unbeaten 49 to bring Pakistan back into the game at Headingley.

“I wasn’t nervous, it wasn’t like that,” Wasim said.

“We have very good players and I knew if one of us stayed in, we’d get to the target. It just happened,” the 30-year-old said.

He also revealed that the idea was to play the Afghan spinners carefully and then aim for bigger shots.

“Rashid was bowling brilliantly and our plan was first not to give him a wicket, and then we could target the rest.

“I think there were some bad shots played, but the guys have won us games may times and it had to be someone else,” he said.

Coming lower down the order, Wasim comes in handy as a batsman. He had played an unbeaten knock of 46 against India and despite wickets tumbling at the other end, Wasim made it a point to stick around.

“Every time I go out there I just play for my country. I love my country too much. I know every sportsman, they do. I just want to give 100 percent every time.

The result, it doesn't matter to me because if I give 100 percent and the rest of the lot, we're good enough to beat any side on a given day,” Wasim said, adding: “It was a great innings.”

With fans of both the countries getting involved in confrontation, Wasim appealed for better behaviour.

“We are Muslim brothers and we should not be fighting. I request them to behave properly during a match,” he said.

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