South Africa speedster Wayne Parnell has clarified the reason behind his Cristiano Ronaldo-Esque celebration during the 5-wicket win over India in Perth on Sunday, October 30.
After winning the Toss India chose to bat first, South Africa’s fast bowler quartet, led by Parnell, perturbed the formidable Indian batting line-up with their winning spells in beneficial conditions.
Parnell began the innings with a maiden over against KL Rahul and picked up 3 wickets during the slog overs to register grand figures of 3/15 from his 4 overs.
There was one specific moment that caught everyone’s attention during the Indian innings. Parnell dismissed India’s lone warrior Suryakumar Yadav (68 in 40 balls) in the next-to-last over.
The South African Peace then played the ’Zen’ celebration, made well-known by Manchester United and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo who did it after netting his 700th club goal against Everton before in October.
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Ronaldo located both his palms on his chest with eyes closed in a seemingly calm state of mind. While talking about imitating Ronaldo’s celebration against India, Parnell, in a recent video shared on South Africa’s Instagram handle, said:
“The celebration obviously comes from Ronaldo. I have always been a big Cristiano Ronaldo fan and obviously a Man U fan as well. And obviously, he’s been going through a little bit of a tough time recently.”
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The fast bowler further said that Ronaldo’s determination to beat setbacks and fight against all odds has motivated him in his own sporting career.
He added:
“But one thing I always like is his resilience and that’s something I have always taken on his word. Like a never-say-die attitude and always wanting to put on performances for the team.”
South Africa successfully chased down a below-par 134 on a bouncy pitch by overcoming several hurdles in their path.
A 76-run endure between Aiden Markram (50) and David Miller (56*) brought them back into the game after India struck crucial first blows. They ultimately crossed the target with 2 balls left in a closely fought game and gained 2 crucial points to sit at the top of the points table.
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