Babar Azam has faith in the Pakistan middle order

The Pakistan skipper denies his team’s batting is only about him and Mohammad Rizwan and that the middle-order batters are capable of deliveries in the T20 World Cup, starting with the big India game.

Of the many things that hurt India after Pakistan’s first World Cup win against them last year, the ease with which Pakistan coasted to the target (they won by 10 wickets) probably caused the most dismay. Mohammad Rizwan and skipper Babar Azam, Pakistan’s batting centres on the two. Rizwan deserves special mention for a staggering T20I average of 96.5 against India, his best ever by a distance. Talk has ever since revolved on how they form Pakistan’s batting anchor. So, the question had to be asked on Saturday, on the eve of the clash between the arch-rivals—is Pakistan’s batting only about Babar and Rizwan?

Pakistan's captain Babar Azam celebrates scoring a century (AP)

Babar didn’t understand the question at first. When he did, the Pakistan captain smiled. “We can know this on the day of the match. You never know. This is T20. On the day anyone can surprise you. It is a short format, any player can win you the match. We have belief in the middle order. They have won us enough matches, they have performed in enough difficult situations. You should be prepared for everything.”

Pakistan too fell into the trap India have been trying to extricate themselves from—starting off slowly, putting unnecessary pressure on the middle-order. The only difference is they have the bowling resources to defend low totals. “The way our fast bowlers are performing, Shaheen (Afridi) has come back, (Mohammad) Wasim, and especially the way Haris (Rauf) has improved and grown his game, our confidence in our bowling unit is quite high,” Babar said. “So, on the day, we will try to execute our plans.”

In terms of momentum, Pakistan are better placed than India, having arrived from New Zealand after winning four of five matches in the tri-series with the hosts and Bangladesh. And though they lost 3-4 to England before that, Pakistan can take plenty of positives from that series as well. The only player unavailable for selection is top-order bat Fakhar Zaman, who is yet to recover fully from a knee injury. “It will take him one or two matches to get fit,” said Azam.

There was an injury scare when Shan Masood was hit in the head by a shot from Mohammad Nawaz at nets but Azam said he is fit to play. “All the test reports look good. He is ready for tomorrow. We haven't yet seen the pitch. We have an eleven in the back of our mind, we will confirm it when we see the wicket.”