Asia Cup 2022: Mohammad Nawaz - The man who turned the Super 4 match vs India on its head

Nawaz was sent out to bat at number 8 in the league stage match vs India in the ongoing Asia Cup, which India won. On that occasion he managed to score just 1 off 3 balls. On Sunday though, after Pakistan lost two if their best batters in captain Babar Azam (14) and Fakhar Zaman (15) and with the scoreboard reading 63 for 2 in 8.4 overs, Pakistan head coach Saqlain Mushtaq and skipper Babar decided to promote the hard-hitting Nawaz up the order. It was a gamble. And it paid off handsomely for Pakistan. The reasoning behind this was to counter the two Indian leggies and Nawaz, who before this match had scored a total of 124 runs in 14 innings, played a knock that turned the match on its head, completely swinging the momentum Pakistan's way. When Nawaz walked out to bat the equation for Pakistan read - 119 needed in 68 deliveries. This was the stage where Rohit Sharma would have liked to really apply the brakes on Pakistan to make sure that the required run rate inched into the realm of the almost impossible. But that's exactly what Nawaz didn't allow the Indian bowlers to do.

He came to the crease and defended the first ball and then played a superb cut towards third man to send Chahal for a boundary. In the next over, Rizwan collected a single off Hardik Pandya and gave the strike to Nawaz. Nawaz didn't waste time and whacked Pandya over long on for a huge six. The 28-year-old Nawaz, a left-arm spinner, put on a 73-run stand with Mohammad Rizwan for the third wicket. It was a partnership that made sure that Pakistan stayed well and truly in the hunt in what was a tricky chase. Nawaz's stay at the crease was just 20 balls long, but in true T20 fashion, it was an impact knock. Nawaz smashed 6 fours and 2 sixes in his