Pakistan’s Babar Azam (AP Photo/KM Chaudary) Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha scored Babar Azam’s crucial half-century for their four-wicket victory over South Africa in the T20I series decider on Saturday, sealing the series 2-1. Babar’s 68 off 47 balls, his first T20I fifty in 13 innings since May 2024, helped Pakistan successfully chase down 140 runs with six balls remaining.Pakistan made a strong recovery after losing the opener in Rawalpindi by 55 runs. The team faced an early setback when opener Saim Ayub was dismissed for a wicket, making it 8-1.
Pakistani fans are heartbroken as their team loses to India AGAIN. ‘Next time’, they say!
Babar steadied the innings by forming a vital 76-run partnership for the third wicket with skipper Salman Ali Agha, who scored 33 runs off 26 balls including two boundaries. Usman Khan and Faheem Ashraf, who remained unbeaten on six and four runs respectively, guided Pakistan to victory.“A single and a double would have been enough to win the match. That’s what we were doing and we knew we were going to get an over like the one against Baartman (where we hit four boundaries) and that was pretty much the end of the match,” Agha said.Agha expressed admiration for Babar’s adaptability, determination, work ethic and meticulous preparation and highlighted his unwavering determination to improve regardless of form.“We are all delighted for Babar. The whole country. In big matches, big players come on. He did that today and I really hope he continues in that vein and we will see how this Babar behaves in the next four or five years,” the Pakistan captain said.“We won both games comprehensively. The bowlers kept them under par and that’s what we discuss in team meetings. Scores over par and other teams under par. The bowlers did their job and it was an easy chase in both games.”
