Paarl [South Africa], December 18 : Salman Ali Agha won hearts after sharing his Player of the Match award with young Saim Ayub after Pakistan's narrow 3-wicket triumph in the opening ODI of the three-match series against South Africa.
Young opener Ayub demonstrated his high-ceiling as a player by hammering his second ODI century in his seventh appearance for the Men in Green. After playing 50-odd balls, Ayub started to accelerate, turning the unfavourable situation around in Pakistan's favour with his 109-run blitzkrieg.
On the other hand, Salmam was a constant threat in all parameters that South Africa had to deal with. The part-time spinner cleaned up South Africa's batting order with his off-spin and contributed with an invaluable 82*, steering Pakistan to victory.
For his all-rounded performance, Salman was crowned with the POTM award, but Salman wanted to share it with Ayub. Salman believes without the young southpaw, there wouldn't have been a victory to celebrate for Pakistan.
"We were in a tricky position, but we took it one over at a time and built it from there. His (Ayub's) knock set up the game. He was there with the new ball and was running out of partners. The way he played the fast bowlers and scored a hundred on this pitch was amazing," Salman said in the post-match presentation.
The duo formed a partnership when Pakistan appeared to be down and out at 60/4 in 19.1 overs. At that point, Salman and Ayub united on the crease, offering Pakistan a realistic shot at changing the situation around.
They dug deep to forge a 141-run stand, during which Ayub was constantly guided by the experienced Salman.
"Obviously, it is difficult. We were four down, and on this track, you need to keep the belief. He (Agha) is more experienced than me and was guiding me," Ayub added.
With Pakistan 1-0 up in the series, the Mohammad Rizwan-led side will look to secure the series in the second match on Thursday in Cape Town.