Babar Azam, Pakistan skipper made a brilliant fifty and helped his team seal the final spot in the ongoing T20 World Cup. After a string of low scores, Babar finally scored 53 off 42 balls as Pakistan defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the semi-final at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Before the semi-final, the Pakistan team faced a lot of criticism for their poor show in the T20 World Cup as they lost to teams like India, and Zimbabwe.
Babar came up with a solid reply during a post-match press conference as he said, "Mere khyaal se zehen me aisa kuch nahi tha. Ham apne waqt ka wait kar rahe the. Ye cricket hai, aap koshish karte hain ki aap har match me perform karein. Par ups and downs chalte rehte hain. Tanqeed sab hi karte hain, ham achha bhi karte hain toh vo karte hain. Ye jeet aap enjoy karein, Pakistan me jo aawam hai, aur jo yahan pe crowd tha, vo bhi enjoy karein, aur jo TV pe baithe hain, vo bhi enjoy karein. (We were waiting for our time. This is cricket and you try to do your best in every game, but there are ups and downs. We always try to give our best. Everybody criticises, even if we perform well. So, Pakistan fans back home and those who were here in a crowd should celebrate this win. The ones who are sitting on television should also do the same)”.
New Zealand were restricted to 152/4 by the Pakistan bowlers after batting first. Pakistan will now be playing against England in the final of the T20 World Cup in Melbourne on Sunday.
Pakistan Squad: Babar Azam (C), Shadab Khan (VC), Asif Ali, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Usman Qadir.