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Pakistan PM's tweet after Babar Azam's men reach T20 World Cup final goes viral instantly
"Passion, commitment & discipline Well done Team Pakistan 🇵🇰 for an incredible comeback," tweeted PM Sharif after Pakistan's resounding win over last year's runners-up at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif highlighted three qualities that helped the team reach the T20 World Cup final despite being on the verge of being knocked out from the Super 12 stage. Pakistan were almost out of the competition after losing to India and Zimbabwe but an unexpected victory for the Netherlands over South Africa gave them a lifeline and they used it perfectly by beating Bangladesh to qualify for the semi-final. In the semi-final, the Babar Azam-led side brought their A-game to the table and beat New Zealand by seven wickets to advance to their first T20 World Cup final in 13 years.
"Passion, commitment & discipline Well done Team Pakistan 🇵🇰 for an incredible comeback," tweeted PM Sharif after Pakistan's resounding win over last year's runners-up at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Pakistan's hitherto misfiring opening pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan chose Thursday's semi-final against New Zealand to roar back into form, combining in a century stand to put the 2009 champions into the final of the T20 World Cup.
Rizwan and skipper Babar headed into the tournament as the top two T20 batters in the official rankings but endured run droughts in the group stage even though Pakistan made the last four after the Netherlands upset South Africa in Group 2.
None of them managed a fifty in the Super 12 matches and Babar's strike rate of 61.90 prompted demands to vacate the opener's slot for a more attacking Mohammad Haris.
Pakistan's bowlers and their middle order carried them into the last four but Babar and Rizwan regained their mojo just in time to put them one victory away from a second T20 World Cup title.
"Luckily, the fifty was in the semifinal. Babar and I were struggling but we worked hard and believed. We kept fighting. When we crossed the boundary line, we decided to take the attack to the new ball bowlers. When we finished the powerplay, we knew one of us had to bat deep as it was a tricky pitch. Our start (to the tournament) was not good, but the guys kept believing," said Rizwan in a post-match presentation.
Pakistan will face the winner of the India vs England semi-final in the final of the T20 World Cup in Melbourne on Sunday.
