PAK vs NZ: Umar Gul Makes Massive Remark On Babar Azam's Strike Rate Following T20I Demotion

Pakistan bowling coach Umar Gul opened up about Babar Azam’s performance in the recently concluded first T20I against New Zealand in Auckland. He said that batter getting runs under his belt surely would’ve boosted his confidence going ahead.

Pakistan suffered a disappointing 46-run loss against New Zealand in the first T20I. They weren’t up to the mark with the bat and ball and went 1-0 down in a five-match series. But one of the biggest positives for them was the form of Babar Azam.

Babar Azam played a decent for the team with the ball in the game and notched up a valiant half-century. He came to bat at No.3 and looked scratchy early on his innings during the powerplay phase. But he eased into the game and then was back at his best.

Babar Azam played some sensational strokes in his innings and kept his team in the hunt while wickets kept falling around him. In the case of 227 runs, Pakistan lost wickets at regular intervals but Babar along with holding one end made sure he scored quickly as well.

Once Babar Azam got set, he took the attack to the New Zealand bowlers and smashed them all over the park. Till the time he was there in the middle, Pakistan had a real chance to win the game but he didn’t get the support from the other end and had to perish while hitting.

Babar Azam ended with an innings of 57 runs off 35 balls and was the only player from his team to go past the 30-run mark, which speaks volumes about his lone hand for the team. He had a strike rate of over 162 and also hit 2 fours and 2 sixes in his innings.

Umar Gul hailed Babar Azam’s innings and hailed him as the top player in the world. He admitted that the batter didn’t live up to the expectations in the last series and luck also didn’t favour him.

Umar Gul highlighted the high strike rate Babar Azam played in the game against New Zealand and said that it was a good sign for the team. Speaking to reporters, he explained:

“Babar Azam is our top player, he’s one of the best players in the world. Even in the last series, he wasn’t out of form but sometimes luck didn’t favor him. He looked good and got 30-40s but he couldn’t live up to the expectations of scoring big hundreds. Unfortunately, he couldn’t perform like that.

“If you look at Babar’s strike rate and the way he batted today, it is a good sign for Pakistan because he must have gotten confidence from this inning. The ball is coming onto his bat but luck was not in his favor in previous innings. I am sure his runs today would have boosted his confidence.”

PAK vs NZ: Babar Azam completes 3500 runs in T20Is

Babar Azam not only returned to form in the game against New Zealand but also unlocked a special milestone in the T20Is. He became the first player from Pakistan to score 3500 runs in the shortest format of the game.

Babar Azam achieved the feat in the 99th innings and became the second-quickest batter to achieve the feat. He joined the likes of Virat Kohli, Martin Guptill, and Rohit Sharma to achieve the feat.

Quickest Innings to 3500 Runs in T20Is;

96 innings  – Virat Kohli (India)
99 innings  – Babar Azam* (Pakistan)
118 innings – Martin Guptill (New Zealand)
126 innings – Rohit Sharma (India)