DUBAI: Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz, who played a match-defining 42-run knock in the high-octane Asia Cup Super Fours clash on Sunday, revealed that he was promoted in the batting order to maintain left-hand right-hand combination.

Nawaz spoke to the presser here after his match-winning knock and unveiled the strategy behind his promotion in the batting order.

“The captain and the management decided that I should be sent to maintain a left-right combination,” said Nawaz.

“I tried to give the best performance for my team which was seen today. There was no plan to change my number earlier,” he added.

The all-around player then asserted that playing under pressure had been very beneficial to him and pledged to get better as the burden of responsibility increased on him.

“I benefited a lot from playing under pressure. As an all-rounder, the onus has also increased on me to improve myself,” Nawaz stated.

The left-handed batter then revealed his game plan with Mohammad Rizwan as the duo decided to take the game till the end and lay a solid foundation for Khushdil Shah and Asif Ali.

“I had discussed with Rizwan about taking the match to the end so that Asif and Khushdil can play better,” shared Nawaz.

“The first match against India was also very close, we played under pressure which was quite good for us. Our focus was solely on winning and we will continue to do so. In this match, we were thinking that we might need to tackle short pitch deliveries and we were prepared for that,” he concluded.

It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan avenged their Group A defeat by edge pasting arch-rivals India by five wickets in the Asia Cup Super Fours on Sunday. Nawaz played a match-winning knock for the Green Shirts as he scored a blistering 42 off a mere 20 deliveries after returning with match-winning bowling figures of 1/25.

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