"He's been going through a little bit of a tough time recently" - Wayne Parnell on doing Cristiano Ronaldo's Zen celebration against India
South Africa speedster Wayne Parnell has explained the reason behind his Cristiano Ronaldo-esque celebration during the five-wicket victory over India in Perth on Sunday, October 30.
After India chose to bat first, South Africa’s pace quartet, led by Parnell, rattled the formidable Indian batting line-up with their vicious spells in helpful conditions.
Parnell started the innings with a maiden over against KL Rahul and picked up three wickets during the slog overs to register impressive figures of 3/15 from his four overs.
There was one particular moment that caught everyone’s attention during the Indian innings. Parnell dismissed India’s lone warrior Suryakumar Yadav (68 in 40 balls) in the penultimate over.
The South African fast bowler then performed the ’Zen' celebration, made famous by Manchester United and Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo who did it after netting his 700th club goal against Everton earlier in October.
Ronaldo placed both his palms on the chest with eyes closed in a seemingly tranquil state of mind. While speaking on imitating Ronaldo’s celebration against India, Parnell, in a video uploaded 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.”
The pacer further said that Ronaldo’s determination to overcome setbacks and fight against all odds has inspired 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 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 stand between Aiden Markram (50) and David Miller (56*) brought them back into the game after India struck crucial early blows. They eventually crossed the target with two balls left in a closely fought match and gained two crucial points to sit at the top of the points table.