Wahab says he was under pressure in last T20

LAHORE: Pakistan's senior fast bowler Wahab Riaz has revealed that he was under immense pressure in the final match of the series against England.

In an interview on a YouTube channel on Thursday, Wahab said that Pakistan had not won any match on the England tour and the whole team wanted to end the tour successfully so he wanted to lead the team to victory with his performance.

He took two wickets for 26 runs in the third T20 against England which Pakistan won by 5 runs.

The 35-year-old, who has taken 32 wickets in as many T20Is, said the entire team wanted to win the third and final T20 against England in order to end the tour on a high.

“I was under pressure while playing the third T20 against England. I had a lot on my mind. It was the result of two months of consistent hard work. The entire team wanted to win the last match and end the tour with a victory. I am happy that my performance helped the team,” Riaz said in the interview with cricketer Kamran Akmal.

The speedster, who has bagged 83 wickets in 27 Tests, said it was hard to come back into rhythm after a four-month gap.

“When we started training on the England tour, it felt like we had never played before. It seemed hard to come back into rhythm after not playing for four months. The team management didn't put too much pressure on the players in the beginning. The intensity of the training was raised as time went on and we were ready before our first match,” he said.

“There was a lot going on in my mind when the opportunity arose. There were a lot of questions. I will not lie at all that I was not under pressure, I was under pressure and I am happy with my performance,” the pacer said.

Wahab also revealed that he once won a match for his team with an injured eye. Talking to Mushtaq Ahmed on a private TV programme, Wahab said that he was hit on the side of his eye during a domestic match.

“I immediately put my hand on the wound and everyone gathered around me. I saw my hand, there was no blood on it, but when I put my hand on the wound again, it was full of blood,” he said.