KARACHI: After sealing a clinical 10-wicket win over England in the second T20I, Pakistan captain Babar Azam refrained from engaging in a bout of words with the team’s detractors and analysts who hurled severe criticism over its batting strategy.
“I am no one to give them (critics) a reply,” said Babar in a post-match press conference. “Things which are beyond our control we simply don’t listen to them and don’t even let those to enter into the team.”
Babar smashed a magnificent 110 off 66 balls laced with 11 fours and five sixes, guiding the national team to a perfect win on Thursday here at National Stadium, Karachi.
Wicket-keeper batter Mohammad Rizwan combined excellently with Babar as he scored 88 off 51 and the opening pair chased down a massive 200-run target without the loss of a wicket.
“Obviously we play and gear things up according to the situation. Everyone has their own point of view. Our job is to give performances and win matches for Pakistan” he added.
Talking about the brilliant chemistry between the two openers as they recorded the highest-ever run chase in the T20I history without losing a single wicket, Babar stated they had already chased down massive targets in the past as well.
“I think our communication is quite good. Sometimes we don’t even call and take a run because we have built a kind of trust level, which is indeed necessary,” he maintained.
Furthermore, the skipper explained that the decision to replace Mohammad Hasnain with Naseem Shah in the playing lineup—which proved counter-productive because the speedster went for 51 runs in his four overs—was taken to assess the team’s bench strength.
With the phenomenal win, Pakistan have levelled the historic seven-match T20I series 1-1 against England.
READ: ‘We’ll make changes in third T20I’ Moeen after England’s loss
