SA vs PAK | Twitter lauds stoic Saud Shakeel's humility after scoring crucial fifty without much pomp

Pakistan won the toss and elected to bat first against the Proteas at Chepauk. The Men in Green had a struggling start in the first four overs as promising opener Abdullah Shafique departed for 9, shortly before Imam-ul-Haq followed suit. Mohammed Rizwan and Babar Azam put up a steady partnership of 48 runs for the third wicket until the former was dismissed in the 16th over to leave Pakistan reeling at 86/3.

The troubles deepened once the skipper was caught behind after a fighting half-century and Pakistan found themselves in dire straits at 145/5. After the consecutive fall of wickets, It was Shadab Khan and Saud Shakeel who took up the responsibility of rescuing their team. Shakeel looked comfortable throughout his knock, stroking seven fours to get to 49. On the third ball of the 41st over, he pushed Shamsi’s fuller length delivery to deep mid-wicket and scampered back for a quick second run, making a desperate dive at the non-striker’s end. The run-out attempt was referred to the third umpire who declared Shakeel safe. However, even after surviving the run-out and registering a pivotal half-century, the Shaheen batter did not acknowledge the milestone, giving out a strong message that he was focused on playing for the team rather than for his own runs.

Twitter was quick to come out in praise of this commendable gesture by Saud Shakeel.

Half century!

Brilliant!

Talented

Great

Hope

LOL

Don't undermine

Fantastic

Confident innings