While Babar Azam garnered praise from all around the world for his match-winning knock against Australia while chasing a huge total of 348, former coach, Misbah-ul-Haq, also expressed delight on seeing the explosive innings by the young skipper.
Sharing his thoughts on a sensational century by Babar Azam, Misbah-ul-Haq highlighted how the innings could be a turning point for the star batter’s game. The former captain declared it a defining moment for Babar Azam’s career as he noticed a mature and much-improved player in the second ODI.
Misbah-ul-Haq said, “Babar Azam’s innings was different from what he normally does. He dominated the bowling lineup completely in a pressure game and responded to the criticism. If he can play like that more often, that’s the next level (for his batting). He normally scores 5-6 RPO with ease, but in that innings, he was scoring at 8 RPO with an excellent strike rate. That’s the way to go. You don’t sit and wait till the 30-40th over. You try to dominate the opposition and score to your potential and ability. Looking into the future, he should think, ‘This is Babar Azam, this is how I need to play.”
Misbah-ul-Haq also appreciated Babar Azam for playing fearlessly and not opting for the usual defensive approach.
He said, “I am happy that he came out of that shell of preserving his wicket and thought about dominating the bowling instead.”
In the second ODI, Babar Azam had smashed 114 runs off 83 balls at an incredible strike rate of 137.35 as Pakistan made history by chasing their highest ever target in the 50-over format.
