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Saim Ayub opened for Pakistan in the 2nd T20I against South Africa, which was played in Centurion on Friday, and remained unbeaten on 98 runs from 57 balls.
Azam Khan’s post for Saim Ayub after he scored 98 runs in 2nd T20I against South Africa goes viral. (Picture Credit: AFP, AP)
Star Pakistani wicketkeeper-batter Azam Khan took to Instagram stories on Friday (December 13) to share a post for his teammate Saim Ayub after he scored an unbeaten 98 runs for the Men in Green in the second T20I against South Africa, which was played at SuperSport Park in Centurion. The left-handed batter, who came out to bat at No. 3 in the series opener, which Pakistan lost by 11 runs in Durban on December 10, opened the innings in place of Babar Azam at SuperSport Park and scored 98 runs from 57 balls. During his stay at the crease, Ayub hammered 11 fours and 5 sixes and helped Pakistan post a total of 206 runs on the board for the loss of five wickets in 20 overs.
In the Instagram post that is now going viral on the internet, Azam, who last played for Pakistan in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, praised Ayub’s knock by writing, “When you give players consistent chances, that’s when they truly have the opportunity to perform at their best.”
It was due to Ayub’s knock that Pakistan managed to post a fighting total in the must-win match, but his effort went into vain as riding on Reeza Hendricks’ maiden T20I century (117 runs from 63 balls), South Africa chased down the target of 207 runs in 19.3 overs for the loss of just 3 wickets.
Ayub, who is one of the most promising young cricketers, has struggled for consistency in the initial phase of his career, but despite that, he was retained by the Pakistan team management and given consistent chances to play in all three formats of the game. And now he has finally started to pay off and is one of the top performers for Pakistan in all three formats of the game.
The 22-year-old cricketer from Karachi scored 113 runs from just 62 balls for Pakistan in an ODI match played against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo last month, and by doing so he became the second Pakistani batter after Shahid Afridi to score a century in less than 60 balls for the Men in Green in the 50-over format of the game.
