OVAL: Throughout 2024, Green Shirts have been experimenting with their T20 international lineup, particularly trying to disrupt their most successful opening partnership in the history. In the first 13 matches, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam alternated batting at No. 3 to give Saim Ayub—and briefly, Haseebullah Khan— opportunities to open the batting.
However, at The Oval, the inevitable happened: Ayub, despite his success in the Caribbean Premier League, was dropped a game before the T20 World Cup. His 12 T20I innings this year yielded only 163 runs at an average of 13.58, with recent partnerships with Rizwan producing meager results of 7, 6, 16, and 0 runs.
This led to the reunion of Rizwan and Babar at the top of the order. Their prolific partnership is unmatched, with over 2000 T20I runs and an average stand of 49.18, including eight century partnerships. Despite their success, they have faced criticism in Pakistan, particularly for their scoring rate of 7.98 runs per over.
Their cautious approach is more pronounced in T20 World Cups, with Babar’s strike rate at 114.47 and Rizwan’s at 120. For every memorable partnership, like their unbroken 152 to beat India, there’s a less impressive stand, such as 71 in 10 overs in the 2021 semi-final loss to Australia.
Recently, Pakistan aimed to adopt a more aggressive approach, exemplified in their series win against Ireland, scoring over 10 runs per over in consecutive chases. Rizwan and Babar started aggressively against England’s fast bowlers, but Pakistan’s middle order struggled after their dismissals.
Usman Khan was the only middle-order player to make an impact, scoring 38 off 21 balls. The rest faltered against Adil Rashid and Mark Wood, with Azam Khan’s duck being a lowlight. Pakistan turned a promising 59 for 0 into 157 all out, being bowled out for the second consecutive match.
This pattern of Rizwan and Babar batting deep, leaving few opportunities for the middle order, perpetuates itself. When the middle order does get a chance, their lack of recent match practice leads to underperformance, reinforcing Rizwan and Babar’s tendency to handle most of the scoring themselves.
As Pakistan heads to the World Cup, they retain their familiar opening pair and persistent issues. They might win against a stronger team and lose to a weaker one, likely making it to the Super Eights or even the semi-finals. Rizwan might also resume wicketkeeping duties after Azam’s poor fielding performance, marked by two dropped catches.
Despite being labeled “unpredictable,” Pakistan’s T20 performance has a certain predictability. No matter the circumstances, Rizwan and Babar, affectionately dubbed “Rizbar,” remain central to their strategy.
