"Those shots were just cold" - Fans react to Babar Azam's bright cameo in ENG vs PAK 4th T20I 

Pakistan T20I skipper Babar Azam lit The Oval up with an entertaining knock in the fourth and final match of the series against England on Thursday, May 30. The right-handed batter scored 36 runs off 22 deliveries to give Pakistan a promising start in the series finale.

After the third T20I was washed out, England came into the final match with a slender 1-0 lead as Pakistan had the opportunity to draw the series. The Men in Green were put into bat first and scored 59 runs in the powerplay phase as Babar did the bulk of the scoring.

The opening batter showed intent, and looked untroubled against England's menacing pace duo of Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. Babar smashed the latter for consecutive deliveries in the final powerplay over before being dismissed off the last ball.

Babar Azam was deceived by a slower delivery that he guided to short third to end a promising start. During the innings, he also became only the second batter in T20I history after Virat Kohli to reach the 4000-run landmark.

Fans were thrilled at the Pakistan skipper's brilliant cameo but wished for more as he was looking in excellent touch.

Here are some of the reactions on social media:

"If he doesn't play all of the 3 roles, they don't finish well," one user wrote

"This is so unreal from Babar Azam," one tweet read

"Owning Archer and Wood in England is not a cup of tea for everyone," another user remarked

"Our middle order needs to step up" - Babar Azam

Pakistan were well placed at 59-1 after the powerplay, but lost their way after that. The middle order trio of Fakhar Zaman, Shadab Khan, and Azam Khan failed to record double figures, leading to Pakistan collapsing to 86-5 after four overs.

"First six overs, we played very well. After that, the momentum shifted as wickets fell. Our middle order needs to step up. You need 2-3 good overs in the middle and in the death as well. England's bowling was very good. Hopefully, we don't do this in the World Cup," Babar Azam said during the post-match presentation.

Pakistan are drawn in Group A of the 2024 T20 World Cup along with India, USA, Ireland, and Canada.

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