The English all-rounder scored a brisk 9-ball 17* to guide England home against the Blackcaps.
The game was gone, done and dusted! England pulled it back, and Rehan Ahmed had almost everything to do with it. The English all-rounder scored an unbeaten seven-ball 19 to guide the Three Lions past New Zealand to victory. The Harry Brook-led side strolled past the Super 8s stages without losing a single game.
However, the 21-year-old all-rounder stated after the match that Brendon McCullum sent across a message out to the ground, which made the deal for Rehan Ahmed. Apparently, the English head coach told Ahmed to bat like Virender Sehwag.
“Baz actually sent one of the walkie-talkie messages downstairs, saying ‘tell Reh to bat like Sehwag’,” Rehan Ahmed said.
The Three Lions were in pursuit of a competitive 160, and were not in the position to chase the total until the 17th over. The Englishmen lost Tom Banton on the fifth ball of the 17th over – when they still needed 43 off the last 19 deliveries. Will Jacks also scored a brilliant 18-ball 32* to steer England past the Kiwis.
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Rehan Ahmed walked out to bat at No.8, which was a big positive for the Three Lions. An extra batter will always be highly useful on Sri Lankan soil, considering the manner in which the pitch behaves. However, England will be highly hopeful of some similar performances from the youngster in the years to come.
England made the decision to go with Rehan Ahmed over Jamie Overton, who will be expected to come back into the scheme of things if the team plays their semi-final clash in India. That being said, playing an extra spinner in Ahmed was a very smart move by the Englishmen – which paid off.
The 21-year-old expressed that the role that he would be playing in the contest was made extremely clear by the management pre-hand, which helped role clarity. The youngster has not scored even 100 runs in T20Is so far, but has a strike-rate of 142.30, which is great for the side.
“Yesterday in training on a similar wicket, I was trying to play that certain way. I was trying to hit sixes straight because the role I’ll be in the team will be similar to the way I’ve trained for that,” said Rehan Ahmed.
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