Mohammad Rizwan had a tremendous 2021. He played some memorable innings and match-winning knocks for Pakistan, especially in the T20 World Cup.
Rizwan was the third-highest run-getter in the World Cup with 281 runs at an average of 70.25 and a strike rate of 127.72 in the six matches. He hit three fifties - 79* vs India, 79* vs Namibia, and 67 vs Australia.
On being asked about his favorite innings from 2021, where he scored over 2000 T20 runs - the first player to do so in a calendar year, Rizwan picked his 67 vs Australia in the World Cup semi-final.
"You know the one I will always remember is the Australia one in the semi-final. The most difficult bowler I've ever faced, Josh Hazlewood, was playing. I find him difficult. And then the pitch itself, the conditions, these were things going against us. Batting was tough and I was fighting hard. I was there after being in the ICU but that was a different challenge," Rizwan told Cricket Monthly.
"People will say that the innings against India was my best, but I know which one was the toughest. What I was fighting to play that innings, against myself, the bowlers - Australia's bowling is always strong. The ball was getting stuck in the pitch and they were dropping it right on those spots too. I was trying to do things that I couldn't, so I fought through it. And at the end, I started connecting, which is what I'd been waiting for. That's why it stands out."