'Surprised he came so late': Ian Bishop reacts to Haris’ batting position

LAUDERHILL: Former West Indies cricketer Ian Bishop expressed surprise over the late arrival of Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Haris during the first T20I match of the three-match series at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground on Friday.

While on commentary, Bishop praised Haris for his remarkable first-ball six on the final delivery of the 20th over, but questioned the decision to send him so late in the batting order.

“Mohammad Haris! He does this sort of thing. I’m surprised he has come in so late,” Bishop remarked.

Haris, known for his aggressive top-order batting, generally occupies the No. 3 or No. 4 position. 

A recent example includes his match-winning century against Bangladesh in Lahore in May, where he remained unbeaten on 107 off just 46 deliveries, hitting eight fours and seven sixes.

However, during Pakistan’s recent 2-1 T20I series loss to Bangladesh, the 24-year-old failed to leave a significant impact despite batting higher up the order.

In the series opener against the West Indies, Pakistan posted a competitive total of 178-6 in their allotted 20 overs. The innings was led by a composed half-century from Saim Ayub, who found solid support from Fakhar Zaman and Hassan Nawaz.

Saim, continuing his fine form, brought up his fourth T20I fifty with a series of confident, risk-free shots. He and Fakhar added a crucial 50-run partnership for the second wicket, taking Pakistan to 70-1 by the ninth over.

The left-hander was eventually dismissed by Jason Holder in the 12th over for a well-constructed 57 off 38 balls, including five boundaries and two sixes. Fakhar followed soon after, falling to Shamar Joseph for 28 off 24 balls.

Hassan Nawaz then provided momentum in the middle overs with a quickfire 24 off 18 balls before being dismissed by Akeal Hosein. Mohammad Nawaz added a brief eight off six before falling to Romario Shepherd in the 18th over.

Captain Salman Ali Agha and Faheem Ashraf added useful runs in the death overs. Faheem scored 15 before becoming Shamar Joseph’s third victim, while Agha remained unbeaten on 11.

Mohammad Haris, despite coming in after the sixth wicket in the final over, left a mark with a six off the last ball to close out Pakistan’s innings.