Azam helps Pakistan to historic victory
Independence Cup 1st T20 Pakistan: 197/5 (Azam 86, Shehzad 39, Malik 38, Morkel 1/32) World XI: 177/7 (Du Plessis 29, Sammy 29*, Khan 2/28) Pakistan won by 20 runs
THEY came in their thousands. They cheered like they hadn’t done for eight years. And ultimately it was their team that conquered.
But on Tuesday evening at the Gaddafi Stadium it was not about the result. The focus was on the cricket-loving people of Pakistan who have been starved of major international matches since 2009 when terrorists attacked a Sri Lankan team bus en-route to the ground.
It was an occasion to savour. From the moment the World XI players were paraded around the ground prior to the toss in a traditional tuktuk, there was a cacophony of noise inside the 1996 World Cup final venue.
The action out in the middle didn’t disappoint either. Morne Morkel’s very first ball had the crowd up on its feet immediately when Pakistan’s Champions Trophy final hero Fakar Zaman found the boundary – albeit from a fortuitous inside edge.
There was nothing lucky, though, about the next ball with Zaman slashing Morkel’s follow-up delivery powerfully through the point region for another boundary.
Two balls. Eight runs. It was high-tempo stuff. And it didn’t slow down for one minute with Morkel exacting revenge two balls later when Zaman guided a short delivery outside the off stump straight to Hashim Amla at slip.
A new generation of Pakistan fans will relish the opportunity of watching Babar Azam on home soil. Azam is still a baby at 22, but he definitely showed on Tuesday evening that he has the class and temperament.
On a two-paced pitch where no other batsman besides veteran Shoaib Malik at the backend of the Pakistan innings could consistently hit through the line, Azam played fluently throughout his 52-ball stay. It is all about touch, placement and timing.
This was most evident during the 128-run partnership for the second wicket between Azam and Ahmed Shehzad. Although it was critical to the eventual outcome of the game, Shehzad swung like a rusty gate while Azam simply caressed the ball.
It was a match-winning innings as the World XI never managed to quite recover from the loss of both openers Tamim Iqbal and Hashim Amla to Rumman Raees in the last over of the Powerplay.
Captain Faf du Plessis struck a breezy 29 off 18 balls but the visitors were always lagging behind the run-rate due to teenage leg-spinner Shadab Khan’s double strike in the middle overs.
Even a late cameo from Caribbean slugger Darren Sammy (29* off 16 balls, 1x4, 3x6) could not get the visitors close.