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Wahab Riaz a perfect replacement for Shoaib

When Pakistan played their semi-final in Mohali, a majority of fans thought it would be a perfect scenario for Shoaib Akhtar to make his presence felt in a World Cup tie. But Akhtar, who earlier announced his plans to retire after the World Cup, had to leave the scene without getting a proper chance to end his career on a high. It was a sad end to the tearaway fast bowler, who led Pakistan to so many memorable victories in the past. One bad display against New Zealand ended his career in an abrupt way.

Pakistan wouldn’t complain though as his replacement Wahab Riaz was brilliant in the semi-final, picking up five big wickets. The 25-year-old announced his arrival to the big league with a stunning five-wicket haul. Though his effort went in vain, Pakistan — who missed their top bowlers Mohammad Aamer and Mohammad Asif due to spot-fixing charges — had reasons to celebrate the improvement of the new paceman.

Riaz, who is an expert in reverse-swinging the old ball, impressed everyone by clocking around 147kmph on a slow Mohali pitch. His introduction into the attack provided instant rewards as the left-arm pacer trapped the dangerous Virender Sehwag with a quick delivery.

His performance is being hailed as remarkable considering that it came at a stage when Pakistan’s star pacer Umar Gul was leaking runs at the other end.

And just when India looked to reassert their dominance, Riaz was back giving them a big scare by dismissing Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh in consecutive deliveries in the 26^th over.

Yuvraj, who has bagged four man-of-the match awards in this tournament so far, was taken by surprise by the sheer pace of Riaz’s delivery. The semi-final performance would do a world of good for Riaz. Though he has been playing for Pakistan for the last three, he would be a different bowler from now on as he could gain a lot of confidence by just looking at his figures in Mohali.