Home
Captain Babar Azam unleashed his power-hitting prowess in Pakistan's six-wicket win against Ireland in the third T20I on Tuesday, May 14. Chasing a target of 179 in Dublin, Azam went into beast mode in the 14th over, taking on Irish leg-spinner Benjamin White. The first ball itself was dispatched over long-on, not only fetching him a six but also bringing up his well-deserved fifty.
Babar Azam unleashed his power-hitting prowess in the 14th over of Pakistan's chase. After smashing the first ball for a six, he wasn't done yet. The next two deliveries from leg-spinner Benjamin White were dispatched over the boundary line as well, putting immense pressure on the bowler.
White, however, tried to bounce back. He bowled a quick delivery outside off stump, which Babar failed to connect with in his attempt for another powerful cover drive. Undeterred, Azam anticipated a similar delivery on the fifth ball and capitalized on it ruthlessly. He lined up the shot perfectly and launched the ball over the cow corner for his fourth six of the over. The carnage finally ended with a single off the last ball.
Earlier, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam won the toss and opted to field first despite the pitch favoring batsmen. Ireland, led by half-centuries from Lorcan Tucker (73), Andrew Balbirnie (35), and Harry Tector (30), managed to post a decent total of 178/7. Shaheen Afridi was Pakistan's bowling hero, picking up 3 wickets for just 14 runs.
WATCH HOW BABAR BELTED FOUR SIXES OFF BENJAMIN's OVER
Pakistan chased down the target of 179 with ease, thanks to a brilliant opening partnership between Babar Azam (75) and Mohammad Rizwan (56). Both batsmen scored aggressive half-centuries, dismantling the Irish bowling attack. Azam Khan (18*) provided a quick cameo later in the innings as Pakistan cruised to victory in just 17 overs, losing only 4 wickets.
Following the match, Pakistan captain Babar Azam praised Pakistan's impressive all-round show in their dominant win against Ireland.
“Credit to the Ireland batsmen for the first ten overs but after ten overs, our bowlers bowled well. We took wickets at the later stage and we were good in the death stage. We enjoyed a lot, we are trying to entertain the crowd, we liked playing cricket here. (On his partnership with Rizwan) We have a good communication in the middle and we are playing a lot of cricket today. We talked about run-rate and we were targetting some bowlers, we believed in ourselves and tried to match the run-rate. We had good practice and we are now looking forward to the England series, a lot of positives for us, we executed our plans and will look to improve on some areas,” Babar said at the post-match presentation.
Pakistan made a resounding comeback after their humiliating defeat in the first T20I. They bounced back in the second T20I to script an emphatic seven-wicket win and followed it up with another dominant show in the final match to win the three-match series 2-1. Pakistan will next play a four-match T20I series against England.
MORE ON SPORTS TAK:
Rajasthan Royals become 2nd team to qualify for IPL 2024's playoffs after DC's 19-run against LSG
Athiya Shetty posts cryptic story after KL Rahul-Sanjiv Goenka outburst episode
Rohit Sharma leaves and avoids Hardik Pandya as MI captain enters the nets for practice - Report
