CWC '23: Pak don't have to depend on Babar anymore, feels Gavaskar after Rizwan-Shafique's heroics vs SL

Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by six wickets in pursuit of 345 in match 8 of the CWC 2023 edition on Tuesday (Oct 10) in Hyderabad.Sri Lanka opted to bat first and rode on centuries from Kusal Mendis (122) andSadeera Samarawickrama (108) to post 344 for nine. While they hardly got going in the final few overs, it seemed like a winning score nonetheless.

In reply, Pakistan were even jolted early and were reeling at 37 for 2 with Imam-ul-Haq and skipper, and their Mr. Dependable, Babar Azam back in the pavallion. It appeared that the Men in Green would go down easily before opener Abdullah Shafique -- playing his first game in ODI World Cup -- and keeper-batter Mohammed Rizwan stood tall with an impressive 176-run third-wicket stand. Shafique's 113 and Rizwan's 131 not out led the one-time winners to a convincing six-wicket win.

After their win over Sri Lanka, Little Master Sunil Gavaskar lauded Rizwan-Shafique's show. He feels this bodes well for the side as no significant contribution came from Babar. He further opined that Pakistan need not depend solely on Babar now with many others standing up to the occasion.

Gavaskar said on Star Sports, "When you are chasing 350 runs, it takes a lot. They also lost a couple of early wickets in the game. I think more than anything else, I mean, we have all known about what Rizwan can do. But Abdullah Shafique, he looked like a Test batter. The way he anchored the innings with Rizwan, it was great."

The cricketer-turned-commentator added, "More than anything else, Pakistan would have realised that they do not have to depend on Babar. And if Babar fails, there are other batters who are there to score the runs. And I think that is such an important thing for Babar himself because the pressure will not be on him that he has to score all the time."

With the win over SL, Pakistan maintained their dominance over their Asian neighbours in World Cup history, leading 8-0.

Pakistan are at the second spot in the overall standings in the World Cup with two back-to-back wins. They will now face arch-rivals India on Saturday (Oct 14) in Ahmedabad.

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