DURBAN: Pakistan’s white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan bagged multiple unwanted records with his scratchy 74-run in the first T20I of the three-match series against South Africa here at the Kingsmead Stadium on Tuesday.
Opening the innings for Pakistan in a 184-run pursuit, Rizwan had scored 46 off 49 deliveries by the end of the 16th over, with the touring side needing 60 from the last over.
The right-handed batter then finally switched gears and smashed Kwena Maphaka for two sixes in the following over, which saw him amassing his half-century off 50 deliveries.
Mohammad Rizwan eventually walked back on the second delivery of the final over, leaving tailenders to chase 18 runs off four deliveries.
He remained the top-scorer for Pakistan with a 62-ball 74, which featured five fours and three sixes.
Notably, his eventual strike-rate of 119.35 was his third-lowest in a fifty-plus knock, while his unbeaten run-a-ball 53 against Canada in this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup remained his slowest fifty-plus innings.
Rizwan’s scratchy knock was also the second slowest 70-run knock by a captain in men’s T20Is, only behind New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, who scored 70 off 60 deliveries against Pakistan in 2016.
His 62-ball 74 stands fourth in the list of slowest T20I knocks by a full-member batter facing 60-plus balls in the run chase, closely following compatriot Sarfaraz Ahmed, who scored an unbeaten 76 off 64 deliveries against New Zealand in 2014 but in a winning cause.
Slowest knocks by a full-member batter facing 60-plus balls in a T20I chase
| Player | Runs | Balls | Strike Rate | Opposition | Year |
| Gautam Gambhir (IND) | 56* | 60 | 93.33 | Australia | 2012 |
| Kane Williamson (NZ) | 70 | 60 | 116.66 | Pakistan | 2016 |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed (PAK) | 76* | 64 | 118.75 | New Zealand | 2014 |
| Mohammad Rizwan (PAK) | 74 | 62 | 119.35 | South Africa | 2024 |
| Wesley Madhevere (ZIM) | 73* | 61 | 119.67 | Namibia | 2022 |
- Mohammad Rizwan