Is Mohammad Rizwan the most dependable batter for Pakistan in white-ball cricket right now?

The wicketkeeper-batter slammed a fantastic unbeaten century to help Pakistan to a record chase in World Cup cricket against Sri Lanka.

Hyderabad turned into Rawalpindi for a matter of hours when Mohammad Rizwan was steering the Pakistani resistance and counter-charge against Sri Lanka in the ICC Cricket World Cup group stage encounter on Tuesday.

The effort against Sri Lanka required his gargantuan best and Rizwan battled cramps, fatigue, body blows, quick dismissals, and the humidity to take his side past the line. When he arrived to the crease, Pakistan were going through yet another pandemonium. Opener Imam-ul-Haq and captain Babar Azam had returned back to the hut and the daunting target of 345 was scary enough to begin with - Pakistan had never chased a target that big in a World Cup before, in fact, no team had managed to do so.

"When you're chasing a big score and lose two wickets early, it becomes slightly complex. The key is to remain calm... We were under pressure when two wickets fell early. We were trying to take the game deep and put the pressure back on Sri Lanka,” Rizwan would go on to disclose at the post-match press conference.

But with the scoreboard at 37/2 inside the first eight overs, it looked anything but simple. The 31-year-old advised his batting partner Abdullah Shafique, playing in his first World Cup game, to not look at the scoreboard and instead, try to play good cricketing shots and form a strong partnership. The plan, he says, was to get to the 100-run mark first by the 20^th over and then look to push on.

Together, the duo ended up stitching an incredible 176-run stand between them. Both Shafique and Rizwan completed wonderful centuries making it the first occasion in One Day International cricket that four centuries were completed in a single match (Kusal Mendis and Sadeera Samarawickrama had also notched up tons for Sri Lanka in the first innings).

Shafique fell after scoring 113 in the 33^rd over and the onus fell all on Rizwan to see the job past the finish line. During this period, he started suffering from cramps and had to fight through the pain. The first signs of his inability to remain standing came in the 36th over when he fell to the ground after a failed attempt to lob a short delivery over the 'keeper's head.

At that point, Rizwan had reached a situation where he could’ve just opted for the big shots as there was plenty of batting still to follow and Pakistan were in a rather comfortable position. Instead, he continued to play with a measured approach and ran his ones and twos hard.

"I didn't want to give it away, because Sri Lanka have decent bowlers. If I had given away my wicket at that moment, it would've been difficult for the new batsman,” he said.

And he didn’t falter. Chants of “Pakistan jeetega” accompanied the DJ’s usual “Jeetega bhai jeetega” and by the time Rizwan saw the chase through, with an unbeaten 131 off 121, the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium was on its feet.

Even though in the post-match presentation, he candidly admitted that “Sometimes, it is cramp, sometimes it’s acting,” the pain was very visible in his winces and by the way he held his back. And that is the kind of bravado he operates with. This is the machismo that allowed him to play the T20 World Cup final last year despite being in a hospital room just a few hours before or making a comeback when his career was on the line on multiple occasions.

Up until January 2022, his average in ODI cricket had been a meagre 28.80. Since then, it has shot up to an incredible 60.47. The security he provides allows Pakistan to secure their middle order, an area that had been a pain point for them for a long time.

Nobody has scored more runs for Pakistan in ODIs than Mohammad Rizwan (827) in 2023. He also has a majestic average of 75.18 this year and has a tremendous strike rate of over 94. Rizwan has also scored seven half-centuries before adding the century in the last game. There was also the ton against New Zealand in the warm-up game before the World Cup.

With Rizwan in the kind of form he is, the Pakistani batting is not as top-heavy as it mostly has been. The mentality that he brings to the side is hardly and it also reflects in his teammates’ belief.

There’s no doubt that Rizwan will be a massive asset for Pakistan as they go deeper into their World Cup campaign.