DUBAI: Pakistan’s Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, the most destructive opening pair at the T20 World Cup, have been described as “unique” by batting coach Matthew Hayden.
The Australian legend should know — over a 15-year international career, left-hander Hayden was a fixture at the top of the order, compiling more than 8,000 Test runs and over 6,000 in ODIs.
“Babar and Rizwan have created a unique opening for themselves,” Hayden told AFP at the T20 World Cup where Pakistan have already made the semifinals with four wins in four games.
“They are very independent players with their own styles but that blend and mix make for the perfect combination.
“They are unique and it’s special to watch the way they have gone about playing in this World Cup. They chased down a target against India for victory in a perfect run chase, none down for a victory that Pakistan will remember.”
In 2021, skipper Babar and wicketkeeper-batsman Rizwan have amassed 826 runs in 14 Twenty20 international partnerships.
They put on an unbroken 152-run stand — their third as an opening pair — as Pakistan trounced India in Dubai by 10 wickets — their first win over their arch-rivals in 13 World Cup matches.
They combined once more for a 113-run stand to anchor Pakistan’s win over Namibia in Abu Dhabi, becoming the first team to reach the semifinals after four wins in as many games.
“We support each other and although we are not power hitters, we have a good record,” Rizwan said after his man-of-the-match 79 not out against Namibia.
“If I get out early, he is needed to anchor the innings; if he falls, I am given the task to carry on.”
Babar has three half centuries at the World Cup and his only failure came against New Zealand when he was dismissed for just nine.
With his run spree — 721 in 21 matches this year — Babar has regained the number one spot in the Twenty20 batsmen rankings.
Rizwan has 951 runs this year in the same number of matches.
His average is an astonishing 95.10. Rizwan is now number four in rankings.
“The whole team takes inspiration watching Rizwan bat and it brings us confidence,” Babar said.
“His commitment and belief is exemplary and I enjoy his company at the crease.”
Ever since they were asked to open a Twenty20 innings in February, they have made the spots their own.
As partners, they have shared four century stands and one partnership of fifty.
They both, however, differ in demeanour.
Babar appears the more serious, fitting for the under-pressure status as national captain.
Rizwan is chirpy, even sometimes smiling ruefully on his way back to the pavilion after being dismissed.
While Babar was an early starter in the team, Rizwan had to bide his time.
Babar got support at home while Rizwan’s conservative family did not want him to play cricket.
Babar made his mark in two Under-19 World Cup editions in 2010 and 2012 — captaining Pakistan in the second.
Rizwan had a real struggle to get picked, waiting five years for his chance after establishing himself as a first class cricketer of repute.
Once he replaced wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed in late 2019 he has made the spot his own, shining in all three formats with his best form coming in Twenty20 cricket.
Now both Babar and Rizwan are the heart and soul of the Pakistan team as they target a second T20 World Cup title.
Boom not bust as Babar, Rizwan build Pakistan foundation during T20 World Cup in UAE
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Boom not bust as Babar, Rizwan build Pakistan foundation during T20 World Cup in UAE
- Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan described as 'unique' by Australian cricket legend Matthew Hayden
- Skipper Babar and wicketkeeper-batsman Rizwan have amassed 826 runs in 14 Twenty20 international partnerships
Pakistan’s Balochistan on high alert as nearly 2,000 enter from Iran amid Middle East conflict
- Hundreds of Pakistani students fled Iran this week as escalating hostilities spread to major cities
- US, Israel escalation against Iran has disrupted air travel and heightened military activity in region
ISLAMABAD: Nearly 2,000 Pakistanis have returned home from Iran via Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti said on Thursday, as provincial authorities remain on high alert amid the conflict in the Middle East.
Iran has been rocked by joint US and Israeli strikes since Feb. 28 that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It has responded by retaliatory missile attacks targeting American military bases across the Gulf.
The escalation has disrupted air travel, heightened military activity along Iran’s southern coastline and turned strategic locations such as Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz that supplies roughly 20 percent of global oil, into flashpoints.
Hundreds of Pakistani students this week fled Iran due to escalating hostilities spilling across key population centers, forcing them to abandon studies and undertake perilous overland journeys back home.
“In view of the ongoing tense situation in Iran, the entire relevant machinery of the Balochistan government is fully on high alert and activated,” Bugti said in an X post on Thursday.
“The influx of Pakistanis along with foreigners through the Pakistan-Iran border continues, and they are being provided with all possible facilities and necessary assistance at the Taftan border,” he continued. “So far, a total of 1,979 individuals have entered Pakistan via the Taftan border, including 37 diplomats.”
However, Tahir Andrabi, a Pakistani foreign office spokesman, confirmed that nearly 1,200 Pakistanis had so far returned from Iran since the hostilities began.
Returning Pakistani students described sirens, incoming missile attacks, outgoing missile launches and the constant fear of further escalation.
The students’ journey home has proved arduous. From Bandar Abbas, they had to travel east through Iran’s Sistan-Baluchestan province to the Gabd-Rimdan border crossing into Balochistan. The route, normally a commercial corridor, has become a key evacuation pathway for the roughly 35,000 Pakistanis currently residing in Iran.
“I cannot put those scenes into words,” said Misbah Hussain, a 22-year-old medical student from Pakistan’s coastal district of Badin, describing the attacks near her hostel at the Hormozgan University of Medical Sciences in the Iranian coastal city of Bandar Abbas.
“Missiles landed a short distance from where we were staying,” she said, “and continued during our journey back. We could see missiles hitting along the way. There were moments when we felt we might not survive.”
Officials estimate that some Pakistani students still remain in Iran. With airspace disruptions and ongoing hostilities, they face the difficult decision of staying in a volatile environment or risking long overland travel to reach safety.
