Twitter Reactions: Babar Azam’s heroic ton gives Pakistan unassailable lead in the T20I series

Babar and Mohammad Rizwan's 197-run partnership was the highest ever in a T20I run-chase.

By Sabyasachi Chowdhury

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Babar Azam
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Babar Azam. (Photo Source: Twitter)

Pakistan slumped to a six-wicket defeat in the second T20I in Johannesburg. The pressure was on them to stage a comeback, and they did so with sheer authority in the third T20I at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. They won by nine wickets with two overs to spare after their skipper Babar Azam’s ton. With the win, they also took an unassailable 2-1 lead in the four-match series.

Malan and Markram lead the charge

After being put in to bat first, the Proteas blazed away, scoring 60 runs in the powerplay. Both Janneman Malan and Aiden Markram scored a half-century and stitched together a partnership of 108 runs off 64 balls. Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz gave the visitors a breather, getting rid of Markram, who scored 63 off 31 balls at a strike rate of 202.22 with six fours and four sixes.

Malan was the more sedate of the two as he got a 40-ball 55 with five fours and two hits into the stands. He became Nawaz’s second victim. George Linde threatened to take the game away from Pakistan with an 11-ball 22, but he perished to Faheem Ashraf. In the end, Rassie van der Dussen’s cameo of 34 off 20 balls made sure that the home team put up a daunting score of 203 for five.

Babar Azam shows his calibre  

Tracking the target wasn’t going to be an easy task for the visitors by any means. But Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan had other ideas. The duo took Pakistan off to a flying start as they managed 64 runs in the powerplay. But still, they had a long distance to travel. In the middle overs, they made sure that the required rate never touched 11 and they kept finding the boundary without trouble.

Even as Rizwan looked calm, Babar came into his own. The Pakistan skipper made his way to a 49-ball 100 and took his team to safer shores. He went on to score 122 runs off 59 balls and his knock was laced with 15 fours and four sixes.

It was Lizaad Williams, who got rid of the opener against the run of play. Rizwan, in the meantime, stayed unbeaten on 73 runs off 47 balls with five fours and two sixes. Fakhar Zaman finished the game and South Africa’s misery with two glorious fours.

Here’s how the netizens reacted to Pakistan’s win:

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