“Leave Him Alone”: Watch Wasim Akram’s Passionate Defence Of Pakistan Pacer After 1st ODI vs West Indies

Babar Azam produced yet another stunning knock as his 103-run knock helped Pakistan beat the West Indies by five wickets in the opening ODI at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Wednesday. While Pakistan batters were impressive in the chase, the bowlers were taken for plenty as West Indies posted 305 for eight in their innings. Apart from Shadab Khan and Shaheen Afridi, the rest of the bowlers returned with economy rate of over 6. Out of the five bowlers used, Hassan Ali was the only one to remain wicketless, and received quite a lot of flak for his bowling on Twitter.

Pakistan great Wasim Akram was not at all pleased with the criticism, Hassan Ali received on social media. The former Pak passionately defended the bowler, asking fans and journalists to leave him alone.

“Guys, I have a request. Please leave Hassan Ali alone. Please leave him alone. If we don’t give him confidence, then who will. He hasn’t even bowled his second over and starts trending — ‘why is he playing’. Even our journalists are writing. He performed when he was in Lancashire, people are praising him. He’s a match-winner. ‘So, Hasan don’t worry about these guys. We are all behind you. As an ex-cricketer, as an ex-captain, my support is with Hassan Ali,” Wasim Akram said in a video he shared on his official Twitter handle.

Speaking about the match, Akram lauded Babar and the other batters for their performance in the chase.

“Chased down 300 brilliantly, was a comfortable chase. Babar hit hundred, Imam consistent performer, then of course Rizwan we all know what a great player he is and then Khushdil Shah batted brilliantly in the end. It was really good to watch.”

During the West Indian innings, Haris Rauf took four wickets but was also the most expensive Pak bowler. Shaheen Afridi took two wickets while Shadab Khan and Mohammad Nawaz chipped in with one each.

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Shai Hope was the top-scorer in the match with a brilliant 127 while Shamarh Brooks scored a fine 70.

In the chase, for Pakistan, apart from Babar, Imam-ul-Haq (65) and Mohammad Rizwan (59) hit half-centuries. Khushdil Shah too made a big contribution, smashing an unbeaten 41 off just 23 balls.