PAK vs WI: Centurion Babar Azam gives his Player of the Match award to Khushdil Shah

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam surely knows how to win hearts, with both his batting skills and his heartfelt gestures. After leading the team to a magnificent victory over West Indies and contributing with a brilliant century, Azam gave the Player of the Match award to Khushdil Shah, who scored a thrilling 23-ball 41* to take his side home in the final over.

Azam scored a 107-ball 103 runs to keep the home team’s hopes alive, as West Indies had taken charge majorly throughout the game. His efforts were commendable as he steered the innings after the team lost their opener, Fakhar Zaman early in the innings. Babar’s partnership with Imam-ul-Haq helped Pakistan put some quick runs on board before the latter fell prey to Akeal Hosein.

You have to take it deep so that there is less pressure on the finishers: Babar Azam

Meanwhile, it was Khushdil Shah who provided the finishing touches in order to take Pakistan over the line and win the thrilling contest.“Outstanding finish from Khushdil. You have to take it deep so that there is less pressure on the finishers,” Babar Azam hailed Khushdil Shah during the post-match presentation.

“The situation I was in, I tried to take it deep. I have been working on my hitting for the last two years. The coaching camp in the last 10-12 days has helped. The coaches have helped me during this time. I was waiting for the balls to come into my zone,” Khushdil said after receiving the award.

Speaking of the match, the visitors posted a total of 305 runs at the end of the first innings, thereby putting up a huge target for the hosts to chase, courtesy of Shai Hope’s glorious century as he continued to showcase his talent in the white-ball format. After the top order had done their job, the middle order batters and the finishers played cameo and helped their team cross the 300-figure mark.

During the chase, Babar Azam kept finding the gaps at regular intervals as his partners Imam-ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan supported him brilliantly on the field to stitch some crucial partnerships. West Indies gained the upper hand in the game when they dismissed Babar and Rizwan towards the end as Pakistan faced a major setback.

As the game landed into the final four overs, Khushdil Shah took all the pressure on his shoulders as he smashed Romario Shepherd for back-to-back three sixes in the 47^th over. When Shepherd came back for the 49^th over, Khushdil was unstoppable as he hit him for two more boundaries which helped Pakistan to cover up the chase early and take a lead in the series by 1-0.