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.
Former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif was all praise for openers Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam after the pair guided the team to an easy win over West Indies in a three-match T20I series earlier this week. Pakistan pulled off a clean sweep over the Windies, who were missing a few of their big stars due to numerous reasons. Analysing Rizwan and Babar’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.
“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.