- Babar Azam scored 196 off 428 balls which massively helped team Pakistan
- Australia coach Andre McDonald called Babar’s batting an incredible knock
- McDonald also stated that his feat kept them away from victory
After gathering much praise and appreciation from cricket legends and many from the cricket fraternity, Australia’s interim coach Andrew McDonald has now also lauded Babar Azam’s stunning knock that kept his team miles away from a defeat.
In the second Test match of the three-match series for the Benaud-Qadir Trophy, the visitors put up a gigantic 556/declared target for the home side in the first inning, all thanks to Usman Khwaja’s 160. After batting for one and a half-day when it was Pakistan’s turn on the crease, the Australians made sure to keep Pakistan in check. In a matter of few hours, the hosts were all cleaned out at 148 and the Kangaroos geared up to make a comeback on the pitch.
The men in yellow did not waste much time in the second inning, declaring at 97/2 and finalizing a mammoth 506 total for the green team to chase. But this time though, a different team with a different vision took the 22 yards. They were there to stay and stay they did. Babar Azam showed brilliant heroics with the bat to score 196 off 428 runs shielding his fort from a humiliating defeat with all his might. He stayed on the pitch for 9 hours and played a stunning inning in front of a brilliant Australian bowling line-up.
Rizwan’s century and Abdullah Shafique’s gritty 96 took the team to a draw. Andrew McDonald has also spoken about this masterclass from Babar calling it an incredible knock from the skipper while speaking to NDTV
“An incredible knock and I am glad he brought that up. There have been a lot of other things discussed rather than the high skill and temperament with what he went about in that innings. There was a spin on that wicket, he was able to navigate through that and it was quite amazing. You have to factor in that it was a drawn Test, in terms of saving the Test it is right up there in what I have seen,”
He gave full credit to Azam for the way he played and which also kept the visitors far away from the victory. “It was the best by a captain in the fourth innings. An incredible feat denied us a victory but full credit to the way he played,” the coach added.
Currently, the series sits 0-0 with both the Rawalpindi and Karachi matches drawn. The series decider will be played in Lahore and the match will start on 21st March.
Also, Read: Bangladesh’s memorable 100th Test
