Former Australian cricketer Mathew Hayden reckons the difference between Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Pakistan skipper Babar Azam. Calling them opposites, Hayden reckoned Babar is not as flamboyant as Kohli.
Virat vs Babar, Hayden Explains
“Babar and his personality are, as you see, what you get. He is very consistent. He is very stable. He is not overly flamboyant,” said Hayden during an interaction with Pakistani journalists from Dubai.
“They are opposites the way I look at it. Babar is pretty calm most of the time and goes about his captaincy and batting meticulously while Kohli is very animated, very passionate, and very boisterous on the field,” he added.
Pointing that Kohli has achieved a lot more like a batter, Hayden reckons Babar has time on his side to catch up.
“Babar is still young as a captain but from what I have seen he is learning every day and he is a quick learner,” he said.
Babar Azam Records in T20WC 2021
Babar has amassed 303 runs in the tournament in six innings at 60.60 and at a strike rate of 126.25. It is now the third-highest individual tally in a T20 World Cup tournament, standing behind Virat Kohli’s 319 runs in the 2014 edition and Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 317 in 2009.
Babar became the highest run-getter in his maiden T20 World Cup appearance, surpassing batting coach and former Australian cricketer, Matthew Hayden’s tally of 265 runs recorded back in 2007, the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Babar, en route to the knock, completed the milestone of 2500 runs in T20I cricket, and also became the quickest to the feat, reaching the four-figure mark in his 62nd innings. He beat Indian skipper Kohli, who had amassed 2500 runs in 68 innings.
Hayden Praises Mohammad Rizwan
Matthew Hayden also praises Mohammad Rizwan during the innings break of the semifinal match of the T20 World Cup between Australia and Pakistan, labelling the Pakistan batsman as a “warrior.”
“Obviously, there’s a conflict of interests, my heart is all for Australia. But this was a fantastic opportunity with Pakistan, big fan of this batting line-up, have performed superbly right through with the bat all along and tonight is no exception.
Rizwan was in hospital a night ago, suffering from a bronchitis condition, but this is a warrior, a quiet start to tonight’s campaign, but he has great courage, so has Babar, fantastic to see them combine so well,” Hayden said after the first innings on Star Sports.
Rizwan finished the tournament as the second-highest run-scorer behind captain Babar Azam’s 303. He made 281 runs with three half-centuries and also became the first batter in the world to complete 1,000 T20 runs in a calendar year.
