Follow UsImagine the kind of batting Pakistan displayed when their No. 10 batter Haris Rauf was the top-scorer in their crushing defeat by 18 runs to Afghanistan in match 4 of the T20I Tri-Series featuring the two teams alongside hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE).
On September 2 (Tuesday), it was a rematch of the tournament opener where Pakistan defeated the Afghan team by 39 runs. In this game, though, the Pakistan batting, which was on display in their first two games, was just unable to mark attendance.
None of their star bashers in Sahibazda Farhan, Saim Ayub, Hasan Nawaz and skipper Salman Ali Agha were able to make a big score. Veteran Fakhar Zaman did show some resilience, but it did not last long either.
In the end, Rauf, who was taken to the cleaners while bowling, as he conceded 38 in his three overs, became the face-saver for the Men in Green. He blazed away to an unbeaten 34 off just 16 balls, which is also his career-best score, bettering the previous 13* by a huge margin.
With this knock, Rauf now holds the record for the highest individual score by a No. 10 Pakistan batter in T20Is history. The previous best was 24 by Wahab Riaz. Amongst the full-member teams, this was the joint second-highest individual score by a No. 10 batter, alongside Zimbabwe’s Faraz Akram, who had achieved the feat against Bangladesh in 2024.
The record for top score at 10 rests with Lansana Lamin of Sierra Leone, who scored 52* against Eswatini. Amongst full members, Akeal Hosein of West Indies slammed a 29-ball 44* against England while batting in that position.
As for the match, it was the spin troika of 40-year-old Mohammad Nabi, 20-year-old Noor Ahmad and 26-year-old skipper Rashid Khan that did the trick for Afghanistan.
All three of them chipped away with two wickets apiece. Fazalhaq Farooqi picked the remaining two. The two teams will most likely meet in the final of the tournament on September 7 again.