If not with the ball, Haris Rauf almost pulled off the unthinkable with the bat for Pakistan on Tuesday, September 2, against Afghanistan in the ongoing T20I tri-series in Sharjah. Walking in at 103/8 with the game seemingly done as Pakistan required 67 runs to win off 28 balls to win, Rauf showed that he can do more than just hold a bat, walloping Rashid Khan and Azmatullah Omarzai for multiple sixes, igniting a glimmer of hope for the Men in Green.
Pakistan didn't win and fell short by 18 runs, but Rauf ended up breaking the Pakistan record for most runs by a batter at No 10 in T20Is as he surpassed Wahab Riaz's 24, eight years ago. Rauf remained unbeaten on 34 off 16, while smashing four sixes, which is also the joint-most by any batter at No 10 in the shortest international format.
The 31-year-old became the fifth batter in T20I history to smash four sixes in an innings in T20Is and second among full-member nations after Akeal Hosein, who achieved so back in 2022 during his rapid unbeaten knock off 44 off 16 against England.
Most sixes hit by a batter at No 10 in an innings in T20Is
4 - Akeal Hosein (44* off 16 - West Indies vs England) - 2022
4 - Fitri Sham (40* off 38 - Malaysia vs Bhutan) - 2022
4 - Mohammad Adnan (38* off 15 - Saudi Arabia vs Qatar) - 2019
4 - Nandan Yadav (37 off 14 - Nepal vs Kuwait) - 2025
4 - Haris Rauf (34* off 16 - Pakistan vs Afghanistan) - 2025
Rauf was the highest scorer for Pakistan in the innings and Salman Agha and Co will rue the fact that had there been a couple more contributions of 40-odd, they would have won and sealed the finals spot. The Wednesday result meant that Afghanistan moved to the top of the table and even though the repeat of the fixture will be the likely final, the UAE still have two more games left.
