Babar’s sweep of change

Former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam played a match-winning 47-ball 68 to guide his side to a convincing win over South Africa in Lahore on Saturday, sealing the three-match T20I series 2-1 after losing the opener.

For the calibre that Babar possesses, this particular innings may not stand out based on numbers alone. However, current Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha, who has been batting alongside Babar since their age-group days, noticed something different in this knock -- and in the way Babar has been operating recently.

"He knows he needs to bring new things into his game," Agha said after the match, praising the new elements Babar is trying to incorporate into his batting.

Known for his elegant, textbook drives and straight-bat technique, Babar has often struggled to execute sweep shots -- a crucial weapon in modern T20 cricket.

But in the third T20I against the Proteas, Babar was seen playing sweeps -- and playing them effectively -- several times on his way to a record fifty.

"That sweep shot, which you don't normally associate with him, got him a number of runs today. He understands these things because he's such a big player and recognises he needs to take his game to the next level. I really hope we see this kind of Babar in the future, because if he performs, we'll definitely win matches. That's a good sign for us," Agha added.

Babar was dropped from the T20I side earlier due to his low strike rate and missed the last Asia Cup, where Pakistan fell at the final hurdle against archrivals India.

One of the main problems associated with Babar has been the way he has, most of the time, failed to step up when it mattered the most -- a comparison that has come to the fore largely due to the match-up between him and perennial match-winner Kohli.

With this innings, Babar has now surpassed the Indian legend for the most fifties in the format, registering 40 scores of 50-plus in 124 innings, as opposed to Kohli's 39 fifties in 117 innings.

While this still doesn't place Babar on par with Kohli, Agha -- and perhaps the whole of Pakistan -- are hopeful of a brighter future under Babar's resurgence.

"We're all delighted for Babar. The whole country is. In big games, big players step up. He did that today, and I really hope he continues in this vein and we see this Babar perform over the next four or five years."