What did Babar Azam advise Emerging Asia Cup star Tayyab Tahir?

Pakistan A star player Tayyab Tahir has revealed Pakistan national squad captain Babar Azam's advise that helped him put up a match-winning performance against India in the Emerging Asia Cup final on Sunday.

All-round Pakistan Shaheens thrashed India A by 128 runs in Colombo, Sri Lanka, to lift the Emerging Asia Cup trophy.

The 29-year-old, who scored an impressive 108 off 71 balls, stated that Babar — the world's top ODI batter — told him to remain calm and relaxed while playing, and victory would be certain.

His belligerent performance also earned him the Player of the Match title on Sunday.

"He (Babar) told me to remain calm and easy. He said just enjoy the game and you will win,” Tahir said in a conversation with PCB.

“Obviously he is a world-class player who has played in many matches like this. He also said we will win the match one-sided and that is what happened.”

Tahir also talked about his mindset in the final.

“I just told myself that I have to stay on the crease. I knew that the longer I stay on the crease, the more runs I will be able to score. This was the plan, and it worked.

“No one comes into the ground thinking of a hundred. When you are in the 90s, you naturally start to play more carefully but I told myself that it is a big match, so I have to score big as well,” he added.

In the end, Tahir thanked his family and the team’s staff for their continuous support.

Pakistan grabbed the victory against India by a massive margin of 128 runs and won the title under the captaincy of Mohammad Haris.

Tahir scored a brilliant century to help Pakistan post a massive total of 353 after being asked to bat first. 

Pakistan were in a precarious position after losing five wickets for just 187 runs but Tahir led the attack against Indian bowlers and scored 108 runs with the help of 12 fours and four sixes at an impressive strike-rate of 152.11.

Chasing a target of 353 runs, India A were dismissed for just 224 runs in 40 overs.

Spinner Sufiyan Muqeem caused all kinds of troubles for the Men in Blue by taking three important wickets including opener Abhishek Sharma, who scored 61, captain Yash Dull, who was set at 39 off 41, and Harshit Rana, 13, while conceding 66 runs in 10 overs.