In the second match?of a historic seven-match T20I series, Pakistan defeated England by 10 wickets, backed by captain Babar Azam’s undefeated century and Rizwan’s blasting 88, to earn their first victory.
An unbroken 203-run partnership was formed by the openers Babar and Mohammad Rizwan. At a jam-packed National Stadium, the captain smashed 110 not out for his second T20I century and the wicketkeeper-batter added an unbeaten 88 as they finished a 200-run chase in 19.3 overs.
Babar and Rizwan have surpassed Indian stars Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma’s record of 1,743 runs in 51 matches to become the most productive T20I pair with 1,929 runs combined.
The pair Babar Azam and Rizwan broke the record in just 36 games.
The victory brought the seven-match series to a 1-1 level after Tuesday’s six-wicket victory by England in the opener in Karachi.
Rizwan hit four sixes and five boundaries in his 51-ball innings, while Babar smacked five sixes and 11 fours off 66 balls. Babar had a dreadful Asia Cup earlier this month, scoring just 68 runs in six games.
Babar added a century to his previous 122 against South Africa at Centurion last year with a score of 100 in 62 balls.
Their sixth century together in T20I cricket was reached in just 11.2 overs.
Rizwan reached his fifty in 30 balls after being dropped by Alex Hales off Liam Dawson at 23, whereas Babar needed 39 deliveries to get his half-century.
It was Pakistan’s second victory by ten wickets in the T20?format; their first came against India in the T20 World Cup of the previous year.
The pair increased upon their 197-run opening stand against South Africa from the previous year.
Earlier, after winning the toss and choosing to bat first, England’s acting skipper Moeen Ali scored a quick half-century to help his team reach 199-5.