'Tremendous fightback, world-class batting display' - Imran Khan hails Babar Azam for match-saving knock against Australia

Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan lauded Pakistan skipper Babar Azam for his excellent batting effort on the fifth day of second Test match played against Australia at the National Stadium, Karachi.

After the first Test ended in a draw, hosts Pakistan took on the Aussies at the second match in Karachi. Winning the toss, Australian skipper Pat Cummins opted to bat first and his decision was proved right by the batters. Riding on Usman Khawaja’s 160, the visitors piled up a huge score of 556/9 in their first innings.

In reply, Pakistan were bundled out of 148 runs in their first innings with the left-arm-pacer Mitchell Starc scalping three wickets for Australia. The visitors declared their second innings on a score of 97/2, setting a humongous 506-run target for the hosts. At stumps on Day 5, Pakistan survived with the scoreboard reading 443/7.

Congratulations to Babar Azam for leading a tremendous fightback: Imran Khan

Skipper Azam (196 runs off 425 balls) and wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan (104 runs off 177 balls) assisted the home side to prevent the visitors from registering a win in the second Test.

Pakistan skipper had hit a century by the end of Day 4, with the hosts 192/2 in pursuit of a huge total of 506 runs. Australia did manage to get some success on the fifth day, getting the wickets of Abdullah Shafique and Fawad Alam. However, Babar and Rizwan stood their crease, ensuring a draw for their side.

“Congratulations to Babar Azam for leading the Pak team in a tremendous fightback with a superb captain’s inning & world class batting display; & congratulations to the rest of the team too in the way they fought back, especially Rizwan & Shafique,” Pakistan PM Imran Khan was quoted by Bolnews.

The World Cup-winning captain, Imran, also said that he could not watch the match himself but was updated later on. The former cricketer also emphasised on the fact that he is fighting against match-fixing issues as some of the players are being lured by heavy cash offers.