Pakistani captain Babar Azam has dedicated the historic win against India to his fans.
Taking to Twitter, he shared pictures of the winning moments and wrote: “This is for you, Pakistan. History made. All eyes on the next game, In Sha Allah #PakistanZindabad.”
Babar and Mohammad Rizwan’s 152-run partnership for Pakistan was not just a match-winning stand, but also the biggest opening partnership in the history of the Men’s T20 World Cup and Pakistan’s second-biggest partnership in a T20I for any wicket.
Azam and Rizwan’s combined efforts overtook Chris Gayle and Devon Smith’s 145 against South Africa in 2007 as the top opening stand in Men’s T20 World Cups.
Speaking after the match, Azam explained how he and his partner approached the record run-chase.
“The plan with Rizwan is always to keep it simple,” he said. “We tried to get deep in the crease and from about the eighth over the dew came in and the ball came on nicely.
“This is just the start, we have confidence to build on now. It will remain match by match for us.
“The pressure on us wasn’t that much – we weren’t thinking of the record against India at all. I only wanted to back all our players who’ve been preparing well.”
Meanwhile, Azam and Rizwan’s 152 is the second biggest partnership for any wicket in Men’s T20 World Cup history, 14 runs shy of Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene’s extraordinary 166 against West Indies in 2010.
The partnership is also the biggest for any wicket in a T20I against India, and consigned India to their first-ever ten-wicket defeat in T20s.
Shaheen Shah Afridi also bagged three big Indian wickets on a big night. For his performance with the ball, Afridi got Player of the Match award.
Other team members also took to the social media to express their happiness:
Prime Minister Imran Khan, who is in Saudi Arabia, was also watching the match and later took to Twitter to share the picture and congratulated Pakistan for this historic win.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Qamar Javed Bajwa also congratulated the team for the “outstanding performance and comprehensive win against India.”
Beating India by 10 wickets, Pakistan is eyeing its next victory in the match against New Zealand on Tuesday.
