Pakistan defeated West Indies on Thursday (December 17) in the last T20I of the three-match series by 7 wickets to complete a 3-0 clean sweep. In the final T20I, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan added 158 together to help Pakistan successfully chase down 208 in 18.5 overs.

Former Pakistan cricketer Rashid Latif lauded the pair of Babar and Rizwan while comparing him with the star Indian batters. He also said that soon Indians will wish to have someone like Babar and Rizwan in their side.

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“About a year ago, we used to say that Pakistan doesn’t have players like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma or KL Rahul, especially in T20 cricket. But I think, after some time, Indians will also say that we don’t have players like [Mohammad] Rizwan and Babar [Azam],” said Latif on PTV Sports. 

Latif also pointed out the improvement in the strike rate of the Pakistan duo lately. “Earlier, we also had our reservations about their scoring rate but they made up for it by pacing their innings perfectly,” he further said.

While Babar scored 53-ball 79 runs, Rizwan smashed 87 off 45 deliveries and together they put up their second-highest partnership in the last T20I against West Indies. They have been very effective as an opening pair for Pakistan this year. 

In 2021, Babar and Rizwan have posted four 150-plus partnerships as an opening pair for Pakistan. Their best partnership of 197 came against South Africa earlier this year. 

(With PTV Sports Inputs)