MELBOURNE: Babar Azam is back, but the Pakistan captain says he never lacked confidence in his batting even when the well ran dry.
“Once there’s a lull, there’s often a storm that follows. So look out, rest of the world, because I think you’re about to see something very special from Babar.”
Pakistan’s head coach Matthew Hayden had warned the world what to expect from Babar in Wednesday’s semi-final. And the captain lived up to his coach’s billing.
A reprieve thanks to a dropped catch off his first ball gave Babar a chance, and he didn’t require a second invitation. Record-breaking Babar and Rizwan: The world’s best opening pair deliver when it matters.
His 53 from 42 balls was a welcome return to form after what has been a tricky World Cup for the Pakistan captain. Yet the 28-year-old says he always felt confident about his game, even as the runs dried up through the Super 12 stage.
“I’m very confident about my batting,” he told reporters after the win over New Zealand in Sydney. “I struggled a little bit in a few matches, but I feel good, so I continue that momentum in the final.”
Prior to Wednesday’s semi-final, his numbers were befuddlingly poor. In five matches he had scored just 39 runs at an average of 7.80 and a debilitating strike rate of 61.90.
And stretching further back, his 2022 stats haven’t lived up to previous heights either, with 703 runs coming at an average of 31.95 – still good but not the world-class level that had him atop the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Batting Rankings in the past. But Babar is back, just as Hayden said he would be.
“We all know that in any given career, you have significant moments of ups and downs. And the challenges and the humps along the way, they cement you and your greatness,” Hayden said prior to the semi-final.
“You can’t continue to keep on punching out hundreds and 50s and strike rates of 140-plus. There’s got to be moments in time where there’s a lull.
