Following Pakistan’s win against Namibia in an ICC T20 World Cup 2021 clash at Abu Dhabi, skipper Babar Azam said Mohammad Hafeez returning to the form with the bat is an important sign for his team.
Pakistan yet again displayed another dominant performance in the ongoing T20 World Cup as they thumped Namibia by 45 runs to win their fourth consecutive match and become the first team to qualify for the semi-finals.
Batting first, Pakistan openers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were very cautious with the bat as they scored only 59 runs in their first 10 overs.
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However, after the halfway stage, they took Namibia bowlers to the cleaners and scored 113 runs for the opening partnership until the skipper perished for 70 runs.
Mohammad Hafeez, who came to bat at No.4, joined hands with Mohammad Rizwan and smashed Namibian bowlers all around the park to help their team post a total of 189 on the board after a slow start. While the former scored 32* in just 16 balls, the latter remained unbeaten at 79.
Defending the target, Pakistani bowlers took wickets at regular intervals to restrict Namibia to 144 runs and win the match by 45 runs to book their place in the semi-finals.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said that it’s good for them as they are maintaining the winning momentum. He remarked that they wanted to do different things and test their batting.
He lauded Mohammad Hafeez for the cameo he played and said that the right-handed batter returning to form is a good sign for them.
"It's really good. We're maintaining our winning momentum. We wanted to do things differently today, test our batting. Conditions were tough early on. They bowled well and we wanted to take the partnership deep.
"The way Hafeez batted and got into form, was important for us as he is a key player. Hasan Ali was given the new ball as conditions were suitable," Babar Azam said at the post-match presentation.
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Babar Azam pointed out that to win the tournament they need to be consistent across all the departments. He also said that his side wants to maintain the same intensity irrespective of whom they play in the semi-finals.
“If you need to win tournaments, you need to be consistent across all departments. The fielding was a bit lax, there was dew, so that's an area to improve. Need to keep improving and irrespective of whom we face in the semifinal, we want to maintain the same intensity,” he said.
Pakistan will next take Scotland in T20 World Clash at Sharjah on 7th November.
(ANI inputs)
