RAWALPINDI: Imperious Fakhar Zaman has credited skipper Babar Azam for his longer stays on the crease helping him to finish the job for his team after he led Pakistan to a convincing win in the second match of the PAK vs NZ ODI series.
The left-hander played a match-winning knock of 180 not out to help his side chase down the massive 337-run target in the second ODI against New Zealand at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
It was the second-highest run chase by the Men in Green in ODI history.
Pakistan star opener disclosed that he was able to bat till the last because of Babar’s time-to-time interventions to calm his nerves.
“After every over Babar was sending me a message to stand (solid) and not to go hard,” he said in a post-match interview.
“Even when he was batting (with me), he never asked me to go for runs. He was just asking to take singles and double, and if needed he himself would take the risk.”
Moreover, Fakhar said the skipper tried his best to keep him under control even when he was stubborn to take the risk.
“We all know how big a player he is. He is always calm and does not take the pressure. I told him that I would take the risk if the run rate goes beyond seven, no matter what you say. Even then he kept asking me to remain calm since the target is very much achievable on this wicket ” he told.
Talking about the role Babar plays during his marathon innings, Fakhar claimed if he was not there to soothe his nerves it would not have been possible for him to go that far.
“Even in the last match when I was batting in the 80s, I told the umpire if Babar had not been there I would’ve either completed my century or been sitting in the dressing room,” he added.
It must be noted here that Fakhar’s blitzkrieg the other day is the highest score by any Pakistan batter in a successful run chase.
The 33-year-old registered a host of individual records in the match as he became the fastest batter not just from the country but from Asia to complete 3000 ODI runs and just the fourth Pakistani to hit three consecutive centuries in the format.
Fakhar’s back-to-back centuries at Pindi Cricket Stadium, took Pakistan to a 2-0 lead in the series as he outshone New Zealand’s Daryl Mitchell for the second time in a row.
The two sides will now take on each other in the third fixture of the five-match ODI series at the National Bank Cricket Arena as the action shifts to Karachi, which will host the remaining three ODIs on May 3, 5 and 7.
READ: PAK vs NZ: Teams reach Karachi for remainder of ODI series