'Revenge of the hated': Asif Ali, Haris Rauf win back Pakistan's love

Before the ICC Men's T20 World Cup began, Pakistanis were angered over the selection committee's decision to include pacer Haris Rauf and swashbuckling batsman Asif Ali. 

Both cricketers also failed to fire on all cylinders in the National T20 Cup, inviting more wrath from the fans. 

Until Pakistan locked horns with New Zealand, and needed both to perform. And perform they did. 

Haris Rauf bowled at blistering pace, taking four important wickets to keep the Black Caps at bay. New Zealand scored a mediocre 134runs from their 20 overs owing to wickets taken frequently by Rauf. 

Asif Ali also did not disappoint, on a day when Babar Azam played haplessly and Rizwan was unable to see the team through to a comfortable position. 

Asif came at a time when Pakistan were under pressure, and did everything to relieve that pressure by hitting a couple of quality sixes. 

Asif hit three sixes to score a quickfire 27 runs off 12 deliveries. 

Here are some tweets that celebrated the two cricketers, who turned into heroes overnight for millions of Pakistanis across the globe:

Ammar Ali Jan said it best: "Revenge of the hated."

Brashna Kasi used this meme from Friends to depict how people must be feeling towards the two cricketers today. 

We're sure Maria may have forgiven Asif Ali after all. 

Popular YouTuber Arsalan Naseer reminded his Twitter tweeps that he had been predicting a major innings from Asif Ali over the past couple of months. 

Osama cheekily says Asif Ali was the security threat that New Zealand were not revealing. 

Mishu used a scene from Mirzapur to show her love for Haris Rauf. 

Gulfam also thought Asif Ali wasn't the only security threat New Zealand were worried about. 

Some people are accepting Haris Rauf "apology forms". We understand. 

Pakistan thrashed New Zealand in the second-last over, completing their second win in the T20 World Cup. 

The Men in Green are now placed at the top of the table, with India, New Zealand, Namibia and Afghanistan trailing the green shirts.