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Pakistan's ace batter Babar Azam roared back to form with an impressive half-century in the side's T20I series opener against New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday, January 12.
Babar lost his opening position and was demoted to the No. 3 spot in the batting lineup. Despite the change, he was still able to deliver, finishing as the highest run-getter for the Men in Green in the encounter.
Pakistan were required to chase down a mammoth 227-run target in the first T20I. Babar walked out to bat when his team were 33/1 in 2.2 overs. The former captain notched up his 31st T20I fifty, scoring 57 runs off 35 balls.
He was under the scanner following a string of poor performances lately. However, he was able to turn things around on this occasion with a fighting knock under pressure.
The right-handed batter was at 30 off 24 balls at one stage, but was able to accelerate towards the back end, ending with a strike rate of 162.86. Babar was praised by many on social media for his batting exploits against the Blackcaps.
Here are some of the top reactions:
It is worth mentioning that during the knock, Babar Azam crossed the 3500-run mark in T20Is. He also surpassed Martin Guptill to become the third-highest run-getter in T20Is. He is only behind Virat Kohli (4008) and Rohit Sharma (3853) on the list.
Babar Azam's knock went in vain as Pakistan lost to New Zealand by 46 runs
Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first in the first T20I of the ongoing series. Daryl Mitchell and Kane Williamson shone with the bat for the hosts, contributing 61 and 57, respectively.
For the visitors, skipper Shaheen Afridi bagged three wickets but ended up conceding 46 runs from his full quota of four overs. Pakistan were off to an impressive start with the bat, thanks to openers Saim Ayub's (27) and Mohammad Rizwan's (25) quick-fire cameos.
While Babar Azam completed a half-century and Iftikhar Ahmed came up with a decent 24-run knock, the side ultimately ended up suffering a 46-run loss after being bowled out for 180 in 18 overs.
Tim Southee was the pick of the bowlers in the high-scoring clash, bagging four scalps while giving away just 25 runs from his four overs. Mitchell was named the Player of the Match for wonderful batsmanship.
The second T20I of the five-match series between the two teams will be played at Seddon Park in Hamilton on Sunday, January 14.
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