KARACHI: Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez claimed that the match-winning partnership between Sarfaraz Ahmed and Mohammad Amir against Sri Lanka was a morale booster for the entire team for the remaining Champions Trophy 2017 matches.
Hafeez, while speaking on ARY News’ show Bouncer (Champions Trophy Special), revealed that he had no hesitation walking into the field in the semi-final against the hot favourite England as the triumph against Sri Lanka in the previous has lifted the spirit of the entire team.
“I think the previous match against Sri Lanka gave us so much confidence that because all of us in the dressing room at a certain stage were thinking that we’ll lose this match and we’ll be done with this tournament,” Hafeez shared.
“But the partnership of Sarfaraz and Amir steered us through victory and handled the pressure situation quite well and I think after that triumph I did not have any sort of fear, concern, or hesitation that we can not win this tournament,” he maintained.
The right-handed batter then claimed the momentum the Green Shirts had, after the thrilling victory over Sri Lanka propelled us to win the remaining matches with ease.
“England were the hot-favourites for that tournament but the way our momentum and body language developed after that match against Sri Lanka, we achieved the results in such an easy manner which may seem unlikely to believe now but again the momentum we gathered after that match, allowed us to win the next two games quite easily,” Hafeez stated.
“I think all the credit for that momentum goes to Sarfaraz, the way he handled the pressure situation and Amir’s outstanding knock as a tailender because we were thinking that we’re done. But the way Amir displayed resistance and Sarfaraz planned the run chase and their prolonged match-winning partnership fostered the winning momentum among the players,” he concluded.
READ: Amir credits Sarfaraz, Mickey for match-winning spell in CT 17 Final
