There was nothing flashy about Pakistan’s five-wicket victory in the T20 decider against South Africa on Saturday, yet it was oddly compelling. A crowd of just over 32,000 – officially the largest for a cricket match in Pakistan – watched Babar Azam return to half-century form and Salman Agha chat through a chase that, at times, looked tighter on the scoreboard than it felt out in the middle.
Pakistan began the pursuit at almost exactly a run-a-ball. By the eighth over the required rate had crept to eight, and Agha was still bedding in. Enter Babar, calm as you like. The pair have batted together since Under-16 level; their familiarity showed.
“Babar and I have known each other for a long time,” Agha said. “When you know someone so well, it feels easier batting together. We’re experienced enough to know the asking rate wasn’t extremely high.”
A couple of overs later they were still milking singles. Nothing dramatic, just methodical cricket. “Singles and doubles would have been enough to win the game,” Agha added. “That’s what we were doing, and we knew we’d get an over like the one against Baartman [where we hit four boundaries], and that almost finished the game.”
That burst, three boundaries from Babar’s bat, flipped the contest. One of them – the archetypal cover drive – took him to fifty, his first in this format for 18 months and the 40th of an already weighty T20I career. Numbers are one thing; the manner in which he arrived at them told a wider story.
George Linde, miserly as ever, fired a delivery at the pads early on. Traditionally Babar would nudge that towards square leg or simply block. Instead he sank to one knee and swept, cleanly, for four. Not a shot we associate with him, yet it surfaced several times. The message: a willingness to evolve.
“You may all be fans of his batting, but I’m a fan of Babar’s work ethic. The way he prepares, I have not seen anyone prepare as well as he does in international cricket. Whether he’s performing or not, his preparation is always spot on,” Agha said, almost protective of his long-time team-mate.
“He knows he needs to bring new things into his game. That sweep shot, which you do not normally associate with him, got him a number of runs today. He understands this stuff because he’s such a big player, and he recognises he needs to take things to the next level. I really hope we see this kind of Babar in future, because if he performs, we’ll definitely win matches. That’s a good sign for us.”
The innings eventually ended with six still required, leaving room for a modest wobble. Agha chopped on, a couple more dots appeared, then a thick outside edge rolled to the rope, sealing matters with a ball to spare. Not textbook, not chaotic; simply enough.
“We’re all delighted for Babar. The whole country is. In big games, big players step up. He did that today, and I really hope he continues along this vein and we see this Babar perform in the next four or five years,” Agha concluded, still padded up, sweat mixed with relief.
From a bowling perspective Pakistan had earlier throttled South Africa to something just shy of par, thanks largely to Shaheen Shah Afridi’s new-ball burst and Haris Rauf’s defensive yorkers at the death. It meant those singles and twos could do the bulk of the chasing work.
There will be sterner tests ahead – a tri-series next month, then a World Cup looming – yet the sight of Babar adding a sweep to his armoury and finishing an innings with room to spare will hearten Pakistan’s think-tank. Small tweaks can shift matches; in Lahore they tilted a series.
