‘Beating India in the 20-20 WC was the best moment for Pakistan in 2021,’ says Babar Azam
Babar Azam and Virat Kohli(Photo by Michael Steele-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has said that beating India in the 20-20 World Cup was the most memorable moment for Pakistan in 2021. Pakistan had never beaten India in any format of the World Cup. However, the script changed in the previous edition of the 20-20 World Cup as the Men in Green went on beat India by 10 wickets.
“It was a fantastic achievement for us as a team because we had not been able to beat India in the World Cups for so many years. It was our best moment of the year,” Babar was quoted by The Hindu
Pakistan’s worst moment also came from the same tournament. Babar said that losing to Australia in the semis was heartbreaking. After dominating the game for the most part of the match, Pakistan suffered a heartbreaking loss as Matthew Wade snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. “That defeat hurt me the most this year because we had been playing so well and as a combined unit,” he said.
Despite the loss in the 20-20 World Cup, Pakistan had a very successful year. Barring a loss against England and a 1-1 draw against West Indies, Pakistan went on to win every T20I series they played. While Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan contributed heavily with the bat, the likes of Haider Ali, Asif Ali also rose to the occasions when the team needed them to stand.
With the ball, Hasan Ali, Haris Rauf delivered some memorable performances and supported Pakistan’s leader of the pace attack Shaheen Afridi. Babar lauded the youngsters and said watching them contributing to Pakistan’s wins was pleasing.
“The biggest satisfaction was seeing young talent come through for us at crucial times. It is good we are now producing young talent,” he pointed out.
