April 16, 2023
Following the magnificent performance of Pakistan skipper Babar Azam in the second match of the T20I series against New Zealand on Saturday, Pakistan women’s cricket team player Tuba Hassan took to Twitter to praise the former.
During the match at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Babar scored 101 runs in 58 balls, laced with 11 fours and three maximums, at a strike-rate of 174.13 — helping Green Shirts take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
The prolific batter also won the Player of the Match award, bringing his total count to nine during his T20I career, which is only two short of teammates Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan.
Taking to Twitter, Tuba praised Babar: “Another one for the history books! What a knock what a player. Well done.”
It must be noted that Pakistan won the second T20I by 38 runs courtesy Azam’s brilliance with the bat and pacer Haris Rauf’s four-wicket haul.
Chasing a target of 193 runs, the Kiwis were restricted to 154-7 in 20 overs.
The home side leads the series 2-0 bearing in mind the fact that they won the first T20I on Friday by 88 runs at the same venue.
Eight Kiwis are missing because of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and skipper Kane Williamson has a bad knee injury, leaving the captaincy to batsman Tom Latham — and providing plenty of opportunity for newcomers to shine.
The remaining three T20 matches are on April 17 in Lahore, and 20 and 24 in Rawalpindi.
Pakistan and New Zealand will also meet in five one-day internationals after the T20 series, honing preparations for this year´s 50-over World Cup in India.