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Pakistan’s fielding was below par in their second warm-up clash ahead of the World Cup 2023 against Australia. There were misfields and dropped catches that led to Australia taking advantage. However, Hasan Ali not only saved a boundary but showcased a unique style near the boundary line that amused his teammates.
The incident took place in the 25th over of Australia's innings. Haris Rauf guided the ball towards the deep backward point. Ali covered a lot of ground. However, he would have failed to get his hands on the ball so he decided to put his football skills to use. While sliding he stuck out his boot to push the ball back in play.
Ali managed to save two crucial runs for his side. Rauf was amused by his teammate’s football skills as he smiled while walking back to his mark. Stand-in captain in Babar Azam’s absence, Shadab Khan smiled and applauded Ali’s effort.
Earlier, the 29-year-old pacer was impressive with the new ball after Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first. Despite getting hit for a six by David Warner in his first over, he conceded just 12 runs from his opening four-over spell.
Ali was a late inclusion to the World Cup squad after Naseem Shah got injured during the Asia Cup and got ruled out of the quadrennial tournament.
In the warm-up clash, Babar and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan were rested. “Babar is okay. He wanted to rest. Rizwan is resting as well. We are like a family. We are best friends. That's the beauty of our team. We will win or lose as a team. Winning is always a habit. We want a win. Great opportunity for our team to get some confidence from here,” Shadab said at the coin toss.
When Ali was included in the World Cup squad, many criticised the selectors. The chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq gave a valid explanation as he said, "Naseem Shah unfortunately got injured and he's our main bowler. Hasnain had an ankle operation. Ihsanullah had an elbow operation. We had few options left among fast bowlers due to injuries."
"Hassan Ali bowled well in the LPL and elsewhere recently. He is experienced and has played well for Pakistan previously in big events," he added.
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