Pakistani skipper Babar Azam on Monday opened up about his remarkable century against New Zealand in the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in Edgbaston.
On June 26 2019, Azam took matters in his hands when Pakistan lost two wickets for 44 runs and scored one of his career’s best centuries.
While talking about the unforgettable day, Azam said that Pakistan managed to stop New Zealand at a manageable total.
“We restricted New Zealand to a good total but the spinners started getting help after the rain,” said the Pakistan skipper.
The 28-year-old cricketer also stated that it became difficult to bat after rain as the pitch started to support the Kiwi’s spinners.
“It became difficult to bat after the rain so decided to play slow against the spinners, like a Test match. Our goal was to play spinners with five to six runs per over,” he said.
The no. 1 ODI batter further said that the partnership with Haris Sohail was crucial as he helped the team to cope against spinners.
“The partnership with Haris was a game changer. We lost wickets and then he came in and started to dominate the spinners. Meanwhile, I was playing well against fast bowlers,” he added.
“I told Haris Sohail that I want to sweep Mitchell Santner. When I tried to hit a sweep, it was good, after which we strengthened our grip on the match.”
It must be noted that Pakistan defeated New Zealand by six wickets as Babar and Haris shared a 126-run partnership. The left-handed batter was run out after scoring 68 runs.
That inning by Haris Sohail is considered one of the best innings of his ODI career.
In bowling, Shaheen Shah Afridi was the MVP as he took three important wickets of Colin Munro, Ross Taylor and Tom Latham for just 28 runs in 10 overs. Meanwhile, Mohammad Amir got the danger-man Martin Guptill after scoring just five runs.
- Babar Azam