Imam-ul-Haq rescues Pakistan to prove his worth in ODIs once again
Imam scored 61 off 94 balls in a tough situation
Left-handed batter Imam-ul-Haq tackled Afghanistan's bowling so well despite other batters losing their wickets on the other end during the first ODI in Hambantota on Tuesday.
Imam came to bat with Fakhar Zaman after Pakistan decided to bat first in the opener of the three-match series.
Fakhar lost his wicket in the first over and his dismissal was followed by back-to-back wickets which put Pakistan under pressure.
But, Imam stayed calm and composed at the crease to bring up his 17th ODI fifty. He scored 61 off 94 balls in a tough situation to gather massive praise on social media.
Before this match, Imam was all over social media for sharing his feelings about being called 'parchi'. During a podcast, Imam shared that he never let his parents come to the stadium due to fear of parchi chants.
"From 2017-2020, people used to come and say parchi on my face while I was sitting with my family in a restaurant. Literally, it hurt me a lot and it was so often," he recalled.
"To date, I never let my parents come to the stadium due to parchi chants fear. Because it is normal for me but I don't want my mother to listen to parchi chants while I am fielding on the boundary," he shared.
Imam made his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi on October 18, 2017. His uncle Inzamam-ul-Haq, also Pakistan's former captain, was the national team's chief selector at that time. Inzamam named Imam in the ODI squad which sparked 'nepotism controversy' in the cricket world.
Since then, Imam used to listen to parchi chants during international matches. Even on social media, fans used to criticise him despite his good performance in the 50-over format.
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