Analysing Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam’s performance in the third T20I, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter made an interesting observation, comparing the duo to their Indian counterpart, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma.
Highlights
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Rizwan is only batter to score 1000+ T20I runs in a calendar year
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Babar Azam was the leading run-scorer in T20 World Cup 2021
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Pakistan white-washed West Indies in 3-match T20I series
“About a year ago, we used to say that Pakistan doesn’t have players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul, especially in T20 cricket. But I think, after some time, Indians will say ‘we don’t have players like (Mohammad) Rizwan and Babar (Azam)’,” Latif said during a post-match discussion on PTV Sports show ‘Game On Hai’.
Babar and Rizwan had been criticised in the past for their scoring rate. However, the 53-year-old highlighted that both the players have certainly improved their strike-rate this year.
“Earlier, we also had our reservations about their scoring rate but they made up for it by pacing their innings perfectly,” he stated.
With Pakistan chasing a target of 208 in the final T20I in Karachi, Rizwan smoked 87 off 45 balls while Babar dazzled with a 53-ball 79.
The pair added 158 runs for the first wicket — their fourth 150+ stand in T20 cricket in 2021 — to lay the foundation of a dominant win
