‘King is back? No. King was always here!’ – Former Pakistan Players Galore Praises After Babar Azam Hits Second T20I Ton Against England
Babar Azam in the second T20I against England (Image Source: Twitter)
After losing the series opener, Pakistan locked horns with England for the second match in Karachi on 23 September 2022. Ahead of the 20-20 World Cup in Australia, this series is going to be a huge test for the Men in Green. However, they were coming off having a good Asia Cup campaign in UAE. Meanwhile, in the second match, England won the toss and they opted to bat first.
For them, Phil Salt and Alex Hales came out to open the batting. On the other hand, Pakistan dropped Naseem Shah. In place of him, they went with Mohammad Hasnain. Salt scored 30 runs while Hales departed for 26 runs. Then, in the middle order, Ben Duckett scored 43 runs off 22 balls, including seven fours. Along with him, Harry Brook also scored 31 runs off 19 balls. But, it was skipper Moeen Ali who scored 55 runs off 23 balls, including four sixes and four boundaries.
Babar Azam scored his second T20I ton as Pakistan defeated England by 10 wickets
These innings helped England to post a huge total of 199 runs for five wickets in 20 overs. For Pakistan, Dahani and Haris Rauf took two wickets each. In response, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan came out to open the innings. Since Asia Cup, Babar Azam failed to score at his best. In the Asia Cup, he scored only 68 runs in six innings, at an average of 11.33. Even, in the first match of this series, he scored only 31 runs off 24 balls. Former Pakistani players like Aaqib Javed also criticized him for his slow strike rate.
But, Babar Azam answered his critics in some style as Babar smashed his second T20I Ton in the match. He scored 110* runs off 66 balls, at a strike rate of 166.66. His partner, Rizwan has been enjoying his rich vein form. In the Asia Cup, he was the highest scorer. In the series opener, he scored a fifty also. Now, in this match also, Rizwan remained not out on 88 runs off 51 balls, at a strike rate of 172.54. Thus, Pakistan chased down the target in 19.3 overs with 10 wickets to spare. After that, fans went crazy as they shared their views on Twitter. Even, former Pakistani players also came up on Twitter with some special messages for the Pakistan skipper.
Here is how former Pakistani players have reacted to the blistering knock of Babar Azam against England:
King @babarazam258 is back . #PakvsEng2022 pic.twitter.com/5ok3b74rMR
— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) September 22, 2022
Rizwan needs a strong & performing Babar to make it work. Just like how today @babarazam258 came roaring back with a 100 chasing a big total. Well done guys.
Full video: https://t.co/ZWmFyZ0L2g pic.twitter.com/4Ktg3fTyzl
— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) September 22, 2022
King is back? No. King was always here!#KingBabar #RiseAndRise #PAKvENG @babarazam258 @iMRizwanPak pic.twitter.com/RZz1r0huW1
— Rashid Latif | 🇵🇰 (@iRashidLatif68) September 22, 2022
Top class batting by @babarazam258 and @iMRizwanPak to win a high scoring match tonight. This is the intent required to chase 199. Really happy for Babar to gain his form against such a top team. Well played boys! @TheRealPCB #PAKvsEng
— Umar Gul (@mdk_gul) September 22, 2022
Very well said @nassercricket https://t.co/THL9XjXHUZ
— Misbah Ul Haq (@captainmisbahpk) September 22, 2022
https://twitter.com/REALsaeedajmal/status/1573007920941469701
Babar and Rizwan given answer to the people who were criticising them for their strike rate.These 2 are pillar of Pakistan cricket and Mohd Rizwan one of the finest wkt keeper batsmen ever produced by https://t.co/VPrqhQtxI0 the link https://t.co/3drzp2yW2w
— Danish Kaneria (@DanishKaneria61) September 22, 2022
A great chase from two of the best in the business MA! Well done @babarazam258 & @iMRizwanPak
Congrats team Pakistan#PAKvENG— Wahab Riaz (@WahabViki) September 22, 2022
