Pakistan opening duo Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan stitched a record 203-run partnership highest ever in a T20I chase.
The star duo didn’t cruised through the chase quite comfortably with three balls to spare.
Shaheen Shah Afridi Tweet
Their scintillating performance allowed Shaheen Shah Afridi to take a sarcastic dig at the critics of the openers.
I think it is time to get rid of Kaptaan @babarazam258 and @iMRizwanPak. Itne selfish players. Agar sahi se khelte to match 15 overs me finish hojana chahye tha. Ye akhri over tak le gaye. Let's make this a movement. Nahi? 😉
Absolutely proud of this amazing Pakistani team. 👏 pic.twitter.com/Q9aKqo3iDm
— Shaheen Shah Afridi (@iShaheenAfridi) September 22, 2022
Both Babar and Rizwan have faced huge criticisms over their batting strike rate in the past few months.
The criticism grew further after their defeat in the Asia Cup final where they couldn’t chase a sub par total of 170 against Sri Lanka’s relatively inexperienced bowling lineup.
They fell short by 23 runs after despite getting a good start as Babar and Rizwan couldn’t accelerate the innings at the right time.
Former Pakistan pacer Aaqib Javed too was amongst the critics of Pakistan openers as he said both Babar and Rizwan allow the run-rate go too high.
Babar Azam has a career strike rate of 129.94 in T20Is while it’s 129.09 for Mohammad Rizwan which is quite healthy for top order batsmen.
There was a constant debate going on to find someone who could bat at a higher strike rate specifically in big chases but the duo proved themselves really well in the match at National Stadium, Karachi.
Both Pakistan and England are now placed at 1-1 in the crucial 7-match T20I series just before the T20 World Cup.
This victory came after three consecutive losses for Pakistan and will give some relief to the team and allow them to settle down before the T20 World Cup down under.
