Pakistan’s all-format captain, Babar Azam and wicket-keeper batsman, Mohammad Rizwan, continued their magnificent form and put on a 150 run opening stand in the first T20I against England, registering Pakistan’s second-highest partnership in T20 cricket.
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Their sublime opening partnership helped Pakistan to post a daunting total of 232/6, their highest total in T20I cricket.
The duo also holds the record for Pakistan’s highest ever partnership in T20Is, they scored 197 runs for the first wicket against South Africa earlier this year.
Babar and Rizwan have been a revelation for the Men in Green at the top of the order, this was the second instance where they put on a 150-plus-run stand, equaling the record of Indian openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, who were the only pair to achieve the feat before them.
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Overall, this was the third instance when the Babar and Rizwan put on an opening partnership of more than 100 runs, taking only 12 innings to do so. Only Indian pair, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, and New Zealand pair, Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson have scored more century partnerships than the Pakistani duo, each has added four century stands in T20Is.
Babar and Rizwan’s opening stand was also the second-highest partnership scored against England for any wicket by any team. Former South African opening pair, Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman hold the record for the highest partnership against the current ODI World Champions, they scored 170 runs for the first wicket in 2009.
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