Playing in Hyderabad feels like playing in Rawalpindi, says Mohammed Rizwan

Mohammed Rizwan, who played a key role in Pakistan's epic six-wicket victory against Sri Lanka in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023, was all praise for Hyderabad and the hospitality offered by the city.

Hyderabad: Pakistan wicket-keeper-batter Mohammed Rizwan played innings of his life when he helped his side beat Sri Lanka here on Tuesday. Courtesy of Rizwan's unbeaten 131 off 121 balls, Pakistan pulled off a record chase in the ODI World Cup, with 10 balls to spare. And at the post-match press conference, Rizwan said he felt like Rawalpindi in Hyderabad.

"When we got to the ground for the first time, he (curator) said, 'Rizwan, you must hit two 100s on this ground'. I met him today as well. We can pray for him and you should pray for him too," Rizwan told reporters.

"I felt like I was playing a match in (Rawal) Pindi. The way the crowd gave love today (Tuesday), and not just me, the whole Pakistan team got love. In fact, they supported Sri Lanka too. I am happy that the crowd in Hyderabad has supported cricket, both Sri Lanka and us. I had a lot of fun with them," the Pakistan stumper added.

"Hospitality, you all must have seen it. Someone must have taken pictures when we came to the airport. I said earlier that I felt like I was playing in front of crowd of Rawalpindi. Our ground in Lahore is big, a lot of people come there but today it seems that Pakistan's match is taking place in Rawalpindi," said Rizwan.

Rizwan's 176-run third wicket stand with fellow centurion Abdullah Shafique set the tone and in hindsight it seemed like a correct decision to drop an out of form Fakhar Zaman and bring the youngster in. "This is management and captain's decision. As a senior player, we can give advice," quipped Rizwan.

However, he remembers on reaching the ground, assistant coach Abdul Rahman told him that it was a batting strip. "When we reached the ground, Abdul Rahman who is also our coach and there were 2-3 more players with me, said, 'Rizwan this pitch looks like a batting pitch. When we were bowling, I think it was 32nd or 33rd over that time, I told (Mohammed) Nawaz and 2-3 other players, if we restrict Sri Lanka to 340-plus, then I hope it's the best. If it goes above that, it means we're not bowling well," he added.

Rizwan felt that his biggest plus point in the past few years has been his adaptability while batting at different slots in different formats. In T20Is, he has opened while he comes in at No. 4 in ODIs and that has given him a chance to look at game situations across formats from different angles.

"In T20, Misbah-ul-Haq asked me to open, now management gave me 4 number in the order for ODIs, maybe that's why I can see things. I think I had this thing from the beginning the ability to adjust to the demands of different positions in the batting order," he said.