On Saturday, former South African cricket legend Herschelle Gibbs shared his perspective on Pakistan captain Babar Azam's performance in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 match against New Zealand at Bengaluru's M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
Fakhar Zaman delivered an exceptional innings, ensuring they met the DLS requirements with a striking rate of 155.55. In contrast, Babar Azam managed only 66 runs from 63 balls, with a striking rate of 104.76.
This performance might have put Pakistan in a precarious situation if the match hadn't been rained out. Herschelle Gibbs tweeted a timely message, humorously suggesting that someone inform Babar Azam that Pakistan was chasing a massive 402-run target in a must-win game.
It's worth noting that Pakistan ultimately defeated New Zealand by 21 runs using the Duckworth-Lewis Stern (DLS) Method, keeping their semifinal hopes alive.
After New Zealand posted a formidable 401-6, Pakistan was at 160-1 in the 21st over when rain interrupted play. With a revised target of 342 off 41 overs, Fakhar Zaman had reached 126 runs, while Babar Azam had 66, and their team was at 200-1 in the 26th over when the rain returned, leading to Pakistan's victory as they were ahead of the required run rate.