Watch: Babar Azam hands his Player of the Match award to Khushdil Shah, wins hearts – Firstcricket News, Firstpost

Khushdil Shah finally stepped up in international cricket and translated his form from the PSL to smash some hefty blows deep in the chase as Pakistan overhauled West Indies’ 305 in a thrilling match at the Multan Cricket Stadium on Thursday.

Pakistan captain Babar Azam churned out yet another century (his 17^th ODI ton) and was given good support by half-centuries from Imam ul Haq and Mohammad Rizwan as after a stutter in the final few overs, Pakistan managed to chase the target down in the final over of the match.

For his superb innings, Babar Azam was adjudged man of the match, but the captain passed it on to Khushdil Shah, who played the defining innings in the end as he finished with an unbeaten 23-ball 41*. His 23-ball stay at the crease saw him hit four sixes and a boundary and he put Romario Shepherd under the pump.

Watch the video here:

“We have to plan and play with a lot of intensity. Outstanding finish from Khushdil. You have to take it deep so that there is less pressure on the finishers,” Babar said after the match.

Left-hander Khushdil Shah said that he always wanted to take the game deep and that he trusted his power-hitting in the backend overs. “My game plan was to take the game deep. No matter what happened, I wanted to give my 100% to the team. [On his process] The last two years I have been working on my power hitting,” he said at the post-match presentation.

Earlier, West Indies batted first and courtesy a superb century by Shai Hope and a measured 70 by Shamarh Brooks saw them get over 300. The innings also found momentum by some late assault by Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, and Romario Shephed. Haris Rauf was expensive, but he kept chipped in with 4 wickets while Shadab Khan was the best bowler on display.

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