A year of highs in Pakistani cricket 2021!

In 2021, Pakistan cricket put its fans through the mincer of dizzying highs and subzero lows. The main fact is that this team, captained by Babar Azam, won a lot more games than they lost, and they appear to be re-energized.

Pakistan had a fantastic year in 2021, as their cricket squad triumphed despite all difficulties. The team not only thrived under Babar Azam’s leadership, but the team was also transformed into a cohesive one led by the star himself.

There was a lot to shout for in 2021, from Mohammad Rizwan’s ascension, to Asif Ali’s sixes and to Babar Azam’s excellence to Pakistan’s encouraging achievements in the T20 World Cup. As we say our goodbyes to 2021, let us look back at some of Pakistan cricket’s ‘winning’ moments.

Babar Azam’s most runs as a T20I captain

Babar Azam’s marvelous captaincy took his game to the next level. By the conclusion of the year 2021, the batter had secured the top rank in both T20Is and ODIs, a feat previously only accomplished by Australian star Ricky Ponting. Babar also had a strong record as a captain in the longer version of the game, leading Pakistan to victory in seven of the nine Test matches they played in 2021.

Both Muhammad Rizwan and Babar Azam have a combined total of 29 T20I matches, which is the joint-highest. Babar, the king of the cover drive, scored 939 runs in T20Is in a calendar year, second only to his opening partner Rizwan, who scored 1,326 runs. In addition, the Pakistan captain smashed 9 half-centuries, the second-most by any player in 2021.

Also Read: Babar Azam replaces Imad Wasim as new captain of Karachi Kings for PSL 7

Mohammad Rizwan – A born champion!

In 2021, Pakistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman dominated the T20 format; he began the year outside the top-100 and finished as the third-best hitter in the game’s shortest format. Rizwan broke multiple records in the process, as well as set new ones. He became the first player to reach the 1,000-run mark in T20 International cricket and the 2,000-run milestone in T20s. The batsman also holds the records for most boundaries (119) and sixes (42), respectively, in a calendar year.

The right-handed batsman extended his remarkable run alongside Babar Azam, who was second on the list with nine half-centuries. Rizwan has also tied for the most T20 player of the series honors for Pakistan after only 55 games. On four, he’s tied with Babar Azam and Mohammad Hafeez.

Babar-Rizwan, the favourite cricket duo

Babar and Rizwan have shattered records as opening batsmen during the calendar year. The explosive tandem combined for 1,380 runs in 25 innings, an average of 57.50, becoming the first pair to reach the 1,000-run mark. Both batsmen combined for a 6-century opening partnership, breaking the record set by KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. Four of these six partnerships, against England, India, South Africa, and the West Indies, totaled more than 150 runs. While Pakistan was chasing, they had the most three-century opening stands of any team while batting second. Their 152-run combination in the T20 World Cup was also the greatest opening stand in the competition’s history, and both players were the leading run-scorers in their inaugural T20 World Cup campaign.

Pakistani cricket recap of 2021

With Rizwan and Babar at the helm, Pakistan’s T20I team has put in some outstanding performances. The Babar-led team registered 20 victories, most by any team in the history of the format, beating a record held by Pakistan themselves beforehand as well. In addition, Pakistan outperformed all expectations at the T20 World Cup, reaching the tournament’s semi-finals before being eliminated by eventual champions Australia.

With Rizwan and Babar at the helm, Pakistan’s T20I team has put in some outstanding performances. The Babar-led side won 20 games, the most by any team in the format’s history, breaking a previous record set by Pakistan. In addition, Pakistan outperformed all expectations at the T20 World Cup, reaching the tournament’s semi-finals before being eliminated by eventual champions Australia.

Also Read: Pakistan defeats West Indies in the inaugural T20I, including 50s from Rizwan and Haider Ali

Furthermore, Pakistan showed diverse yet remarkable performances throughout the T20 World Cup, whether it was comprehensively demolishing the opponent or squeezing a win from the jaws of defeat. The Men in Green were the only side in the competition to win all five of their matches, including their first-ever triumph over India in an ICC tournament. As the tournament continued, Pakistan was dubbed the tournament’s favorite. However, Australia and Matthew Wade held their ground in the semi-finals, knocking off Pakistan and securing a spot in the finals.

The successful run in test cricket!

Moreover, Pakistan enjoyed a successful run in Test cricket in 2021 where the team registered 7 victories in 8 matches. The Babar-led team registered victories against South Africa, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and also West Indies. Out of all the teams, Pakistan managed the highest win percentage in the calendar year with 87.5 percent. Pakistan will be anxious to repeat its performance against top-tier opponents including Australia, New Zealand, and England next year.

In Test cricket, Pakistan had a strong year in 2021, winning seven of their eight matches. South Africa, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and the West Indies were all defeated by Babar’s team. Pakistan had the highest win percentage of any team in the calendar year, at 87.5 percent. Pakistan will be anxious to repeat its performance against top-tier opponents including Australia, New Zealand, and England next year.

Some Pakistani cricket memes

Pakistanis also witnessed some of the best cricket memes of all time! Twitter took everyone by storm.

A user tweeted,

Another user tweeted,

Another meme surfaced on Twitter,

So that was the Pakistani cricket recap of 2021.

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