Wahab Riaz was one of the fiercest Pakistani bowlers. With his sheer pace and control over the ball, he had established himself as a regular in Pakistan’s white-ball team. In his 12-year-long career, Riaz played 36 T20I matches, with 34 wickets to his name at an economy rate 8.2.
While he played fewer T20I matches compared to ODIs, he surely left a mark on the shortest format of the game. In the same vein, here are Wahab Riaz’s top performances in T20I Cricket for Pakistan.
Wahab Riaz’s top 3 performances in T20Is
3. 2/24 vs West Indies, 2011
Batting first, West Indies managed a score of 150/7 in their allotted 20 overs, with Lendl Simmons being their highest run-scorer with 65 runs in 44 balls. Darren Bravo also played a cameo of 42 runs in the innings. For Pakistan, Abdur Rahma, Wahab Riaz, and Saeed Ajmal were the pick of the bowlers with two wickets each. However, it was Rahman and Riaz who tried to keep the Windies at bay with an economy of 5.5 and 6, respectively.
In the chase, Misbah-ul-Haq and Saeed Ajmal tried to get to the target but eventually fell short. West Indies won the match by seven runs.
2. 3/34 vs New Zealand, 2016
Defending Pakistan’s total of 171 runs, the Pakistani bowling unit was on song as they restricted the Kiwis to a total of 155 runs. Wahab Riaz was the pick of the bowlers with his spell of 34 runs for three wickets in four overs. Umar Gul and Shahid Afridi also picked up two wickets each.
Earlier in the game, Mohammad Hafeez’s knock of 61 runs in 47 balls guided Pakistan to a good total at Eden Park. Shoaib Malik, Umar Akmal, and Shahid Afridi also played small cameos in the innings.
1. 3/18 vs England, 2016
In the first innings of the game at Old Trafford, Pakistan bowlers did extremely well to restrict the home side to a score of just 135/7. Wahab Riaz was at his absolute best with his spell of just 18 runs and three wickets in his four overs. Hasan Ali and Imad Wasim also contributed two wickets each.
The chase was a piece of cake for the visitors as openers Sharjeel Khan and Khalid Latif each scored 59 runs to put the Men in Green in a comfortable position. Latif remained not out and saw the team through in just under 15 overs.