Pakistan cricket's third great 'W'?

World Cup hero Wahab Riaz has talked openly about his anguish following Pakistan’s quarter-final exit to Australia.

The fiery left-armer produced one of the spells of the tournament to Shane Watson and could arguably have stolen the win for Pakistan if a straightforward catch in the deep hadn’t gone down early in the Australian allrounder’s innings.

Speaking to Pakistan’s The News on Sunday, Riaz described his despair following the six-wicket defeat.

“It was a dream shattered,” Wahab said.

“We were so near in 2011, and again we were good enough in 2015.

“The World Cup comes after four years and I was so eager to win it for my country this time. Who knows where I’ll be after four years.

“I couldn’t control my tears when we lost; it was heartbreaking.”

Despite the devastating loss, Wahab was pleased with his own performance, which saw him collect 16 wickets at an average of 23 – the seventh-best return of the tournament.

That haul also saw him elevated him into 72nd position on the ICC ODI Bowlers Rankings.

“Personally, I’ve achieved the target I set for myself,” he said.

“I promised myself that I would take at least 15 wickets in the tournament… I got 16. But, yeah, it was disappointing that we couldn’t win the World Cup.”

With just 213 runs to defend against the tournament co-hosts in Adelaide, the task was always going to be a tough one for the Pakistan attack, but that didn’t stop Wahab ruffling a few feathers.

The heated contest featured a number of confrontations between Wahab and Watson, with both players fined by the ICC following the match.

“It was planned,” the 29-year-old Riaz said of the aggressive approach, “we were defending a low total.”

“We had to attack them.

“We were looking for some early wickets. You may have noticed I got the field placed according to my strategy of bowling bouncers.

“I also settled scores with Shane Watson, I said to him the same thing that he earlier said to me when I was batting and it ended there on the field.”

Watson would go on to score a match-winning unbeaten 64 for the eventual world champions, but the result could have gone the other way if a simple catch in the deep off a Watson top edge had been held by Rahat Ali.

Watson was on four off 18 deliveries at the time and Wahab was in full flight.

When asked whether Rahat’s drop played a large part in Pakistan’s World Cup exit, Wahab remained magnanimous.

“Who knows? Maybe the result would have been different,” he said.

“But it happens. I’ve no grudge against Rahat. Nobody drops a catch deliberately.

“Rahat is a very good bowler and a good fielder. He tried his best. That was only an unfortunate moment for us.

“Probably, it was our fate.”

Following the match, West Indies legend Brian Lara described Wahab’s spell to Watson as ‘one of the highlights of the tournament’.

“It is really great to see all the confidence boosting comments by the legends,” Wahab said.

“I really felt proud when I heard Brian Lara’s comments. It’s a big compliment for me and such words from a legend have given me more confidence.”

Wahab’s meteoric ascent since the marquee event has been such that the left-armer, an unknown commodity overseas seven weeks ago, is being touted to join Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis as the third ‘W’ of Pakistan cricket.

“As a left-hander, I always idolised Wasim Akram,” Wahab, who has played eight Test in just under five years, said.

“I still want to be like him.

“Although it’s a long way to go, I am really working hard to become a player like him.

“I think hard work always pays off.

“Waqar Younis is a legend and as a coach he’s given me a lot of confidence.

“He used me as Pakistan’s leading bowler in the tournament.

“All the members of team management, including Waqar Younis and Mushy Bhai (Mushtaq Ahmed), backed me up and encouraged me.”

“I have a long way to go to achieve this, but if I ever become someone even close to Wasim, it will be an honour. I would love to be known as the third “W” of Pakistan.”