Babar Azam Opens Up About His Idea Of sending Mohammad Nawaz Earlier

Sent in at number four position, Nawaz smacked Indian bowlers to all parts of the ground while scoring 42 runs in 20 balls. His innings included six fours and two sixes.

“I didn’t fire today but Nawaz and Rizwan’s partnership was outstanding. I thought Nawaz could accelerate because they had two leg-spinners operating so we spent them up,” said Azam.

He also heaped praise on his bowlers for making a strong comeback in the second half of the innings.

“I try to keep things simple. Credit goes to the team for the effort they put in,” he said. “Our spinners and fast bowlers at the death set the stage for us.”

“I thought they had an edge after the way they utilised the powerplay. But the bowlers came back to restrict them,” he added.

Meanwhile, Indian captain Rohit Sharma admitted that Pakistan played better than the Men in Blue.

“Credit to Pakistan, they obviously played better than us,” said Sharma. “Virat’s form is brilliant, there’s no doubt about that. Every batter, especially Virat, helped us get that score because we lost a couple of crucial wickets in the middle.”

Mohammad Rizwan hit an attacking 71 as Pakistan beat India by five wickets in a last-over Super Four thriller.

Chasing 182 for victory, Pakistan achieved their target with one ball to spare in Dubai thanks to a key 73-run stand between Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz (42).

Rizwan was out after his second successive half-century in the 17th over but Khushdil Shah, with his unbeaten 14, and Asif Ali, who made 16 off eight balls, made sure Pakistan got over the line against Arshdeep Singh.

Reprieved after Arshdeep dropped an easy catch at short third man, Asif hit a six and two fours before falling with two balls left, leaving Iftikhar Ahmed to knock off the remaining two runs.