PAK vs SA T20 World Cup 2022: Mohammad Haris EXPLODES in first game, Ravichandran Ashwin says THIS

Young Mohammad Haris was an unknown quantity before Thursday (November 3) but no one will forget his name after a brief but entertaining knock in Pakistan’s Super 12 match against South Africa in the T20 World Cup 2022 in Sydney. The Peshawar-born batter was sent in at the No. 3 position in just his second T20I game, replacing injured Fakhar Zaman in the squad and was immediately pinged on the head by Wayne Parnell in the opening over of the game.

Parnell was on a high after dismissing former world No. 1 T20I batter Mohammad Rizwan for just 4. Haris composed himself after the blow on his head and took on the bowling of Kagiso Rabada from the second over onwards. The first scoring shot of Haris was a huge six over mid-wicket which was followed by another maximum over fine leg and then a four through square-leg, all in his first four balls.

Haris then smashed another four and a huge six off Anrich Nortje to roar on to 28 off 10 balls before falling leg-before to the South African pacer. Even Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was made to stand up and take notice. “Just 5 balls in and this Haris. Phew,” Ashwin tweeted.

Just 5 balls in and this Haris. Phew. #T20WorldCup #notjinxingit

— Ashwin (@ashwinravi99) November 3, 2022

Haris, 21, was among the breakout stars of PSL 2022, hitting 166 runs in five innings at an average of 33.20 and strike rate of nearly 187 for Peshawar Zalmi. Haris’ strike rate was the highest by any top-order batter in PSL 2022. He had made an immediate impact on PSL debut, slamming a match-winning 49 off 27 balls, against the Karachi Kings.

Haris was impressive in the 50-over Pakistan Cup last year as well, scoring 289 runs in eight innings at an average of 41.28 and strike rate of over 100, during Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s run to the title. Haris was named as a replacement for Fakhar after he sustained a posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) injury to his right knee. Fakhar was nursing a knee injury before coming into the tournament and it got aggravated after the game against the Netherlands on Sunday.