Pakistan's white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan played a knock of 74 off 62 balls in the first T20 against South Africa on Tuesday, in an innings that did not go down well amongst Pakistan fans. Pakistan crashed to defeat, failing to chase down a target of 184, falling short by 12 runs. Rizwan consumed more than half of the overs, batting at a strike rate of only 119.35. The innings drew the ire of fans on the internet, with some even calling for Rizwan to be dropped from the T20I setup.
After South Africa posted a total of 183, thanks to a sensational 82 off 40 balls by David Miller, Pakistan's stop-start run chase was made an even more painful watch by Rizwan, who failed to get going despite anchoring the innings.
The Pakistan captain reached his half-century in 50 balls, in the 17th over, and left it too late to accelerate.
Fans on social media were infuriated at Rizwan's innings.
"If Rizwan is not dropped permanently from this format after this innings then we, as a nation, have failed," posted one user on X.
"That innings by Rizwan was so frustrating to watch, even as the fan of the opposition," wrote another user.
Rizwan has taken over captaincy of Pakistan in white ball formats following the nation's disastrous group stage exit under Babar Azam's leadership in the T20 World Cup 2024. While Rizwan was victorious in his first ODI series as captain - away against Australia - his team was thrashed 3-0 in the subsequent T20I series.
Now, Pakistan's three-match T20I series in the tour of South Africa has also gotten off to a bleak start.
Following the T20Is, Rizwan is set to lead Pakistan in a three-match ODI series against South Africa.
The tour concludes with two Test matches, which will be South Africa's final two games in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle, as they bid to clinch a place in the WTC Final 2025.